Ephesians 4: 17-24
We saw last time that the body of Christ is to grow up into the full stature of a mature man. We are all members of that body, we're the body parts. So each of us needs to pay attention to how we're cooperating with God to function in the body in a healthy way.
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,
So we are not to live like we used to, like the rest of the Gentiles still do.
in the futility of their mind,
being darkened in their understanding,
Thoughts of the mind are always the root of our attitudes, which produces our life. And their thoughts were useless, because they were in the dark and don't understand.
excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
and they, having become callous,
They have ignored God, so they have excluded themselves from Him who is life, because of their hard hearts; and the hardness has produced callouses from the constant rubbing of pushing God away.
have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
They are trying to fill the hole with sensual experiences, greedily pursuing more and more forbidden pleasures. But it's never enough.
But you did not learn Christ in this way,
We learned that Christ does satisfy, He fills that hole that worldly pleasures never can.
if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
If you heard God's call to come to Christ, and received the teaching of His truth, then you found that He did fill that emptiness.
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
When you were saved from sin, then you didn't need that old lifestyle any more, and threw it off like a tattered garment. That outfit was wearing out, being used up by all the lies we were deceived by.
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
The thoughts of our mind are to be new ideas to replace those old ones.
and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
We have new clothes to put on, beautiful, well-fitting, dressy, suitable for God's royal children, made with the cloth of righteousness and holiness and truth.
We're not in the dark any more, we've been rescued from the gutter of the world, we've been cleaned up and given new clothes to wear that are just like our Father's, and are now in school learning how to be His royal children.
And it all starts in our mind. We need to change how we think, to see things clearly, so we can educate our thinking processes to know and practice the truth.
We are to wash out all the deceptions that we used to believe, by overflowing them with God's Word: His Son and His scriptures.
How are we to do this? Tomorrow we will see.
O my Father, You have provided the redemption we need to survive. We were slaves to our own fleshly desires, killing ourselves in living our lives in rebellion against all that is good and healthy.
You saw us and had compassion on us, lifting us up out of the dirt and grime and washing us in the blood of Christ, pristine clean. Then You forgave us of all the rebellion and defectiveness in our DNA, and put Your own Spirit of Life in our spirit, clothing us in new garments of light and truth as Your own children.
Now You are teaching us and training us up to learn how to live our lives according to Your goodness and righteousness; Your truth.
Father, help us to wash out all the wrong ideas that have led us astray in the past. Let them flow away in the dirty "bath water" that is thrown out, and let us think Your thoughts, according to Your ways. Teach us how to do all the things You planned for us to accomplish as Your hands and feet, to grow Your family, and to grow up Your children to maturity.
We need You, Father! We cannot do any of this without You! Keep us in Your hand, keep our feet walking straight on Your narrow path that leads to Light. Continually lead us, not letting us stray to the right or to the left, or wander away, or slip into a ditch, or run ahead of You, or lag behind. Keep our feet stepping in Your steps, until we reach that eternal Day!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Thursday, January 16, 2020
How The Body Grows Up
Ephesians 4: 11-16
We saw yesterday that Christ's descending into Sheol to bring Paradise to Heaven was connected to the giving of gifts. Today we will see some of the gifts He has given the church.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
These are the primary gifts that Christ gave the church to build this living building, and to grow this body of Christ.
The apostles were the ones to lay the foundation to this building, for the rest of the builders to lay the living stones upon, to use this picture.
The prophets received the information directly from God to form the doctrines of Truth, and to receive the understanding of what God had already told His people.
The evangelists are the ones who evangelize the people, who tell others the good news of the Gospel that Christ fulfilled the Law and the Old Testament prophets to save us from sin and redeem us into His Kingdom. We are still doing this work, and we will until He returns.
The pastors and teachers are those who also are still working to shepherd God's flock and to educate the believers.
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Those with these gifts we just described are to do their work in order to prepare the people to do the ministry of the church. The evangelists bring the people to faith into the church, and the pastors and teachers help them to grow so they can minister to one another. The people are the ministers. The members of the church are the ones who help the body to grow up.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
The body of Christ is to grow up into the full stature of a mature man by each member growing up in the Lord, being nourished on the Word of God, and being helped through all the lessons and tests of this world by ministering to one another.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Therefore, we must not be childish in our attitudes, being influenced by all the worldliness that surrounds us.
but speaking the truth in love,
This is key, right here. What we say and how we say it. We must know the truth in order to talk about it, and we must love one another to converse in a compassionate way. Bare truth is harsh, and compassion without truth is deceitful and confirming of evil. We must have both together to succeed.
we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, even Christ,
Only this will promote the healthy growth of each one of us as individual members, body parts, so we can all work together as one body into Christ.
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The Head, Christ, fits us all together so that each of our contributions to the health of the body will cause it to grow up into that measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This will be accomplished in our loving one another as Christ has Loved us. Love is the foundation of all Truth and the Law, because it is the energy of the life of creation. God's Love puts order into the chaos.
The apostles and prophets gave us the body of Truth to form the doctrine we are to believe (as opposed to dogma, what we're told to believe because they say so, without substance). So we have the Truth to believe and teach others, because we love them. This Truth and love must go together--it is not loving to deceive, even if it seems compassionate.
O my Father, Your Word tells us that You are Love! Love is the very essence of Your being. That's why we can trust You and depend on You to always do what is right and good.
Teach us how to marry Truth and Love in our thinking processes, so that we can think Your thoughts, not our own.
Father, sometimes we cannot see far enough ahead to understand what You have allowed in our lives is for our good, because it just seems painful right now. But we know that You see the end from the beginning, and we need to comfort and encourage one another compassionately in Your truth. That will enable us to help one another to grow up in our faith and knowledge of You, and to trust You more in every circumstance. When we can't see the future, we can trust the One we know who holds the future in Your hand.
You have told us that You are working out everything, both good and bad, in our lives, to turn out good for us, for our benefit. We can trust You to do this. Because in Your generosity, You want us to enjoy all the benefits of Your goodness, for all time and eternity.
We will not see the bulk of all the goodness You are planning for us until we are with You for all eternity. But You do let us experience some of it, more or less, in this time while we're still here in the world. And what we do with what You give us here will determine what we will be able to enjoy then. So teach us to use the things of this Earth and the events that happen to us here to build up Your body, Your temple, and to grow up to adulthood in Your family.
Father, help us each to work on ourselves, and to minister to one another, so we can all grow up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Your Son. When His body has gathered all its parts, and we have all grown up through the schooling we are subjected to in this time-line; then He will return, we will graduate, and this era will end, ushering in the manifest Rule of our King on His throne, governing with Him under His direction, to manage the world on this Earth in the manner in which it was designed! Our Golden Age!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Son of the Father, Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
We saw yesterday that Christ's descending into Sheol to bring Paradise to Heaven was connected to the giving of gifts. Today we will see some of the gifts He has given the church.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
These are the primary gifts that Christ gave the church to build this living building, and to grow this body of Christ.
The apostles were the ones to lay the foundation to this building, for the rest of the builders to lay the living stones upon, to use this picture.
The prophets received the information directly from God to form the doctrines of Truth, and to receive the understanding of what God had already told His people.
The evangelists are the ones who evangelize the people, who tell others the good news of the Gospel that Christ fulfilled the Law and the Old Testament prophets to save us from sin and redeem us into His Kingdom. We are still doing this work, and we will until He returns.
The pastors and teachers are those who also are still working to shepherd God's flock and to educate the believers.
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Those with these gifts we just described are to do their work in order to prepare the people to do the ministry of the church. The evangelists bring the people to faith into the church, and the pastors and teachers help them to grow so they can minister to one another. The people are the ministers. The members of the church are the ones who help the body to grow up.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
The body of Christ is to grow up into the full stature of a mature man by each member growing up in the Lord, being nourished on the Word of God, and being helped through all the lessons and tests of this world by ministering to one another.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Therefore, we must not be childish in our attitudes, being influenced by all the worldliness that surrounds us.
but speaking the truth in love,
This is key, right here. What we say and how we say it. We must know the truth in order to talk about it, and we must love one another to converse in a compassionate way. Bare truth is harsh, and compassion without truth is deceitful and confirming of evil. We must have both together to succeed.
we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, even Christ,
Only this will promote the healthy growth of each one of us as individual members, body parts, so we can all work together as one body into Christ.
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The Head, Christ, fits us all together so that each of our contributions to the health of the body will cause it to grow up into that measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This will be accomplished in our loving one another as Christ has Loved us. Love is the foundation of all Truth and the Law, because it is the energy of the life of creation. God's Love puts order into the chaos.
The apostles and prophets gave us the body of Truth to form the doctrine we are to believe (as opposed to dogma, what we're told to believe because they say so, without substance). So we have the Truth to believe and teach others, because we love them. This Truth and love must go together--it is not loving to deceive, even if it seems compassionate.
O my Father, Your Word tells us that You are Love! Love is the very essence of Your being. That's why we can trust You and depend on You to always do what is right and good.
Teach us how to marry Truth and Love in our thinking processes, so that we can think Your thoughts, not our own.
Father, sometimes we cannot see far enough ahead to understand what You have allowed in our lives is for our good, because it just seems painful right now. But we know that You see the end from the beginning, and we need to comfort and encourage one another compassionately in Your truth. That will enable us to help one another to grow up in our faith and knowledge of You, and to trust You more in every circumstance. When we can't see the future, we can trust the One we know who holds the future in Your hand.
You have told us that You are working out everything, both good and bad, in our lives, to turn out good for us, for our benefit. We can trust You to do this. Because in Your generosity, You want us to enjoy all the benefits of Your goodness, for all time and eternity.
We will not see the bulk of all the goodness You are planning for us until we are with You for all eternity. But You do let us experience some of it, more or less, in this time while we're still here in the world. And what we do with what You give us here will determine what we will be able to enjoy then. So teach us to use the things of this Earth and the events that happen to us here to build up Your body, Your temple, and to grow up to adulthood in Your family.
Father, help us each to work on ourselves, and to minister to one another, so we can all grow up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Your Son. When His body has gathered all its parts, and we have all grown up through the schooling we are subjected to in this time-line; then He will return, we will graduate, and this era will end, ushering in the manifest Rule of our King on His throne, governing with Him under His direction, to manage the world on this Earth in the manner in which it was designed! Our Golden Age!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Son of the Father, Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Descending And Ascending
Ephesians 4: 7-10
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
The gift Christ gave each of us is according to His measure, as He recognizes our differences in our abilities and capacities. (For example, look at the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25: 14-30.)
His gifts seem to be related to His descending and ascending. Let's look at this:
Therefore it says,
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Let us look also at Colossians 2: 14-15 for more information about this. It says,
Since the blood of animals cannot wash away sins, but only cover them, then the Old Testament saints could not go to Heaven, so they went to Paradise. Then when Jesus' blood splattered the sides of His altar, the cross, then their sins were washed away, as He fulfilled the personal sacrifice.
So while His body was in the grave, He descended into Sheol to organize all the saints there into a triumphal procession in full view of all the rebels and demons on the fire side, and led the whole Paradise side into Heaven.
Now the only part of Sheol that is there is the fire side, or Hell.
Now, since Christ's blood has washed us thoroughly pristine clean, we can dwell with God where He lives, without suffering damage.
I also discuss this in my entry, What Was Jesus Doing?
O my Father, You are so wonderful to Love us so much to send Your own Son to be our Savior. Your Love is so deep and wide and long and high that we cannot even fathom how far it will reach! I know that the blood of Christ can cleanse even the worst serial killer or depraved degenerate to be crystal clean!
Please send me, send my words, send my body out into the world, proclaiming Your Gospel of Truth to all those who are wanting to know You. Lead me to those lost sheep who are tangled or trapped to rescue them, drawing them into the safety and protection of Your one fold with one Shepherd.
Fill Your house to be overflowing, Father, with all of your uncountable children, that every place at Your grand Banquet Table will be filled, that we all will enjoy fellowship with You and one another forevermore.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
The gift Christ gave each of us is according to His measure, as He recognizes our differences in our abilities and capacities. (For example, look at the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25: 14-30.)
His gifts seem to be related to His descending and ascending. Let's look at this:
Therefore it says,
When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (Psalm 68: 18).(Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the Earth?
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Let us look also at Colossians 2: 14-15 for more information about this. It says,
...nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.This tells us that, when Jesus had finished His sacrifice on the cross and His body was buried in the tomb, then He "descended into hell," or actually Sheol, the Place of the Dead. Jesus described this place in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, as having two distinct areas, the Paradise side which He called Abraham's Bosom, and the fire side, which we refer to as Hell.
Since the blood of animals cannot wash away sins, but only cover them, then the Old Testament saints could not go to Heaven, so they went to Paradise. Then when Jesus' blood splattered the sides of His altar, the cross, then their sins were washed away, as He fulfilled the personal sacrifice.
So while His body was in the grave, He descended into Sheol to organize all the saints there into a triumphal procession in full view of all the rebels and demons on the fire side, and led the whole Paradise side into Heaven.
Now the only part of Sheol that is there is the fire side, or Hell.
Now, since Christ's blood has washed us thoroughly pristine clean, we can dwell with God where He lives, without suffering damage.
I also discuss this in my entry, What Was Jesus Doing?
O my Father, You are so wonderful to Love us so much to send Your own Son to be our Savior. Your Love is so deep and wide and long and high that we cannot even fathom how far it will reach! I know that the blood of Christ can cleanse even the worst serial killer or depraved degenerate to be crystal clean!
Please send me, send my words, send my body out into the world, proclaiming Your Gospel of Truth to all those who are wanting to know You. Lead me to those lost sheep who are tangled or trapped to rescue them, drawing them into the safety and protection of Your one fold with one Shepherd.
Fill Your house to be overflowing, Father, with all of your uncountable children, that every place at Your grand Banquet Table will be filled, that we all will enjoy fellowship with You and one another forevermore.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Our Unity
Ephesians 4: 1-6
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Paul's mention that he's the Lord's prisoner will be brought out later in this chapter, tomorrow.
He is begging his readers to live up to the Lord's expectations of them, in the light of all He has done for them, listing some of the attitudes that they need to do this:
with all humility and gentleness with patience showing tolerance for one another in love,
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Humility is seeing ourselves as Christ sees us, not worth any more or less than any other believer; gentleness is needed to deal with one another without our rough edges cutting one another; patience is needed to not rush the responses of one another; and tolerance is putting up with others' habits that get on our nerves, without lashing out. We are to love one another as fellow brothers and sisters in God's family, making the effort to get along with each other, putting the other's needs before our own.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
We all are members of one body with Christ as our Head, because we all have the same Holy Spirit of Life giving us life. The Father called each of us into His family with one hope of our calling to the final destination that God made us for. There is one Lord who is our Boss, the Head of our body, directing and doing through us as His hands and feet. We all believe with one faith, the truth of His death and resurrection for us; and there is only one baptism that we picture with our water baptism, the immersion of each of us into the body of Christ.
We acknowledge only one God, the Father-Progenitor, who made all things through His Word, the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit--He is the One who thought us all up, and we are His imagination, so we "live and breathe and have our being in Him" (Acts 17: 28). That makes Him over all and though all and in all. We, as His imagination, are all inside His mind: if He weren't thinking about us, we wouldn't exist!
So Paul is begging these believers in Ephesus to clean up their lives and thinking. To realize who they are in Christ, and to love one another with Christ's Love for us: that unconditional, sacrificial care for each other that He displayed in taking our death upon Himself.
We are all body parts of one body, so if one part hurts, we all feel the pain. And when one part is honored, we all enjoy the pleasure. And the body we are, is the body of Christ, so we need to realize how He would live in our circumstance (WWJD).
We are to leave all the ways of this world, and the cultural evils of our societies that we live in, and show the World who God is and how much He Loves us!
O my Father, what You have done for us is so stupendous! I am trying to get my head around even a part of what You have already accomplished for us, for us to enjoy the benefits, as You receive the credit, the glory for having done it all!
O Father, You are so great, so good, so powerful, so smart and wise and clever! Everything that You plan, You have already finished. And You have designed us to be Your own children, intimate members of Your royal family. And You have us in school here on this Earth, in this world we have made on it; and all the trials and lessons and testings we encounter here are growing us up, and preparing us to be ready to be Your governors and kings and queens, managing Your universes.
Please help us all to realize how important we are to You right now, and to cooperate with You in living in this world without being of it, recognizing that our home is in You, in Your eternity, enjoying fellowship with You and with one another forever.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, Son of the Father, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Paul's mention that he's the Lord's prisoner will be brought out later in this chapter, tomorrow.
He is begging his readers to live up to the Lord's expectations of them, in the light of all He has done for them, listing some of the attitudes that they need to do this:
with all humility and gentleness with patience showing tolerance for one another in love,
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Humility is seeing ourselves as Christ sees us, not worth any more or less than any other believer; gentleness is needed to deal with one another without our rough edges cutting one another; patience is needed to not rush the responses of one another; and tolerance is putting up with others' habits that get on our nerves, without lashing out. We are to love one another as fellow brothers and sisters in God's family, making the effort to get along with each other, putting the other's needs before our own.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
We all are members of one body with Christ as our Head, because we all have the same Holy Spirit of Life giving us life. The Father called each of us into His family with one hope of our calling to the final destination that God made us for. There is one Lord who is our Boss, the Head of our body, directing and doing through us as His hands and feet. We all believe with one faith, the truth of His death and resurrection for us; and there is only one baptism that we picture with our water baptism, the immersion of each of us into the body of Christ.
We acknowledge only one God, the Father-Progenitor, who made all things through His Word, the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit--He is the One who thought us all up, and we are His imagination, so we "live and breathe and have our being in Him" (Acts 17: 28). That makes Him over all and though all and in all. We, as His imagination, are all inside His mind: if He weren't thinking about us, we wouldn't exist!
So Paul is begging these believers in Ephesus to clean up their lives and thinking. To realize who they are in Christ, and to love one another with Christ's Love for us: that unconditional, sacrificial care for each other that He displayed in taking our death upon Himself.
We are all body parts of one body, so if one part hurts, we all feel the pain. And when one part is honored, we all enjoy the pleasure. And the body we are, is the body of Christ, so we need to realize how He would live in our circumstance (WWJD).
We are to leave all the ways of this world, and the cultural evils of our societies that we live in, and show the World who God is and how much He Loves us!
O my Father, what You have done for us is so stupendous! I am trying to get my head around even a part of what You have already accomplished for us, for us to enjoy the benefits, as You receive the credit, the glory for having done it all!
O Father, You are so great, so good, so powerful, so smart and wise and clever! Everything that You plan, You have already finished. And You have designed us to be Your own children, intimate members of Your royal family. And You have us in school here on this Earth, in this world we have made on it; and all the trials and lessons and testings we encounter here are growing us up, and preparing us to be ready to be Your governors and kings and queens, managing Your universes.
Please help us all to realize how important we are to You right now, and to cooperate with You in living in this world without being of it, recognizing that our home is in You, in Your eternity, enjoying fellowship with You and with one another forever.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, Son of the Father, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Monday, January 13, 2020
God's Love
Ephesians 3: 14-21
For this reason
The reason is that God took the dregs of creation and made us into the very pinnacle of His program, as we discussed yesterday.
I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in Heaven and on Earth derives its name,
Every being, angelic or human, exists because the Father thought us up and made us. So He deserves our adulation at bended knee.
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
The riches of His glory, not stingy or limited.
to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
That His power would make us strong, in our spirit and soul and mind and heart.
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
That our daily living would be Christ living inside us, because we believe Him.
and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
The roots that stabilize us, as though we are planted, in the ground of love, God's Love:
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
That all of us, God's saints, might be able to understand.
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the Love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
How big it really is, in every direction, this Love that God Loves us with; shown to us by Christ Jesus, that goes way beyond anything our little brains can know.
that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
God wants to fill us up with Himself! How can that be? How could God fill us up with Himself without bursting our flesh? This is incredible!
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
God wants to do so much more for us than anything we could ever ask Him for, or even think of or imagine! He wants to give us stuff that only He could design and plan, to carry out His program for each of us.
according to the power that works within us,
The power to do all this that we can't even imagine, is already inside us! God's Holy Spirit is the Life that gives us life, and He is working in us already, even while we still are on this Earth.
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
God the Father will receive all the glory for all He has done in the church, the body, and in Christ Jesus, the Head, throughout all eternity future!
Oh my Father, You want us to understand that Your Love for us is so much more than we will ever be able to comprehend with our tiny brains! So we just have to believe it. We are to put our faith into You and Your Son to have Loved us so much that You have taken care of all our needs for us, that we could never do.
That Your mercy and Your grace is our redemption out of the slave-market of sin, into the glorious freedom of being members of Your own family! You have taken us from the bottom to the top in Your program.
From being filthy enemies, to being honored members of the Royal Family!
O Father, please help us to grow into being the siblings of Your Son. Show us how to live as Your children, members of Your royal family, living out the character of Christ.
Father, I know that I have far to go to learn this, but I also know that You have been working with me and on me and in me to learn these traits. And that You have also worked through me on occasion to draw others into relationship with You.
Keep me on Your path that You have set my feet upon; I place my hand into Yours, so that I will not veer off to the right or to the left, or slip into a ditch, or wander off, or lag behind or run ahead of You.
Your timing is perfect, and I want to align my thinking processes with Your thoughts for me, so that I will follow You closely and do what You have made me to do for You.
Father, grant me good success in the endeavors You have set before me to accomplish. May my efforts result in the growth of many of Your children, and the drawing of many more into Your family.
My Father, You have given me Your power: let me not squander it.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
For this reason
The reason is that God took the dregs of creation and made us into the very pinnacle of His program, as we discussed yesterday.
I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in Heaven and on Earth derives its name,
Every being, angelic or human, exists because the Father thought us up and made us. So He deserves our adulation at bended knee.
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
The riches of His glory, not stingy or limited.
to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
That His power would make us strong, in our spirit and soul and mind and heart.
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
That our daily living would be Christ living inside us, because we believe Him.
and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
The roots that stabilize us, as though we are planted, in the ground of love, God's Love:
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
That all of us, God's saints, might be able to understand.
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the Love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
How big it really is, in every direction, this Love that God Loves us with; shown to us by Christ Jesus, that goes way beyond anything our little brains can know.
that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
God wants to fill us up with Himself! How can that be? How could God fill us up with Himself without bursting our flesh? This is incredible!
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
God wants to do so much more for us than anything we could ever ask Him for, or even think of or imagine! He wants to give us stuff that only He could design and plan, to carry out His program for each of us.
according to the power that works within us,
The power to do all this that we can't even imagine, is already inside us! God's Holy Spirit is the Life that gives us life, and He is working in us already, even while we still are on this Earth.
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
God the Father will receive all the glory for all He has done in the church, the body, and in Christ Jesus, the Head, throughout all eternity future!
Oh my Father, You want us to understand that Your Love for us is so much more than we will ever be able to comprehend with our tiny brains! So we just have to believe it. We are to put our faith into You and Your Son to have Loved us so much that You have taken care of all our needs for us, that we could never do.
That Your mercy and Your grace is our redemption out of the slave-market of sin, into the glorious freedom of being members of Your own family! You have taken us from the bottom to the top in Your program.
From being filthy enemies, to being honored members of the Royal Family!
O Father, please help us to grow into being the siblings of Your Son. Show us how to live as Your children, members of Your royal family, living out the character of Christ.
Father, I know that I have far to go to learn this, but I also know that You have been working with me and on me and in me to learn these traits. And that You have also worked through me on occasion to draw others into relationship with You.
Keep me on Your path that You have set my feet upon; I place my hand into Yours, so that I will not veer off to the right or to the left, or slip into a ditch, or wander off, or lag behind or run ahead of You.
Your timing is perfect, and I want to align my thinking processes with Your thoughts for me, so that I will follow You closely and do what You have made me to do for You.
Father, grant me good success in the endeavors You have set before me to accomplish. May my efforts result in the growth of many of Your children, and the drawing of many more into Your family.
My Father, You have given me Your power: let me not squander it.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, January 12, 2020
A Mystery Revealed
Ephesians 3: 1-13
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--
Paul was writing this letter from prison, traditionally in Rome (Acts 28: 16-31).
if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you;
that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief.
By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
A mystery is something that is not known yet, and God had not revealed this part of His plan until He formed the church to be Christ's body. He gave this gracious task to Paul to reveal it.
to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
The mystery is that Jews and Gentiles will both be in the same family, not separated any more, as God had separated the Israelites from the pagan peoples that surrounded them. This is a totally new concept.
of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
Paul is the one God appointed to share this new phase of God's plan. God powerfully worked in Paul to save him, and teach him, and enable him to travel and preach; he was given this precious truth to share with us all!
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given,
Paul is amazed that God would choose him to give this message, he who had worked so hard against God to try to destroy His church!
to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
God chose to use Paul to let Gentiles know how much God Loves them, too, and wants them also to be washed clean, and to participate in God's program in the world today, and to be members of His own family. This is something that was only hinted at in the Old Testament, and is now fully explained (did you read yesterday's message?).
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
God wanted us to show His angels and the demons to see His amazing grace and goodness to us, His church; made up of all peoples and nations and tribes and colors and languages, from every area of the Earth where people live.
This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
This was always His plan from the very beginning, even before He created. He wanted everyone everywhere to know Him, to recognize His goodness and graciousness, in granting mercy to beings who could never deserve it, yet remaking them into glorious beings of light to help Him rule! From one extreme to the other! Only our God would do something like that!
in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Because Christ Jesus sacrificed His life and poured out His blood to cleanse us, now, by putting our faith and trust in Him, we can be God's own children in His royal family, with the right and permission to freely approach His very throne.
Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
Paul says, don't be sorry for me! He is in prison because He was preaching the Resurrection of Christ, and would not back down. Now he has the time and opportunity to write and encourage these believers at Ephesus, so it's a good thing, for their benefit.
For God to take the least of us, and put him at the head of the line, is just like our God! Jesus said that some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last (Luke 13: 30), and He took Paul, the least, and put him first!
Well, I can't claim to be the least, because Paul already took that spot! But I am one of "the least of these" who God rescued out of a deep pit of sin and deception, and He raised me up and set my feet upon the solid Rock of my Salvation! He was so gracious and merciful to me, to call me one of His chosen!
And He does the same for everyone who calls on Him! He is not willing that any would perish; He made the human race to be His children, and He wants everyone to hear about what His Son has accomplished, so that they would all realize how desperate they are, and turn to Him for Redemption!
God is merciful to not pour out His wrath on us, that we deserve; He poured that on Christ Jesus on the cross for us! And He is gracious to us in washing us clean, forgiving us totally, and giving us His own Spirit of Life into our spirit to make it alive. Now we are His family. His grace gives us all the goodness we could never earn or deserve!
And it is up to us, people, brothers and sisters, to tell everyone in the whole world! This is the "job" He gave us to do, why He leaves us here instead of taking us directly home!
We need to grow up, and we need to tell everybody what He has done for us as His witnesses, and we are to recognize that He is working through us to do all this. We are His hands and feet. Let's get to work!
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great mercy and grace! Thank You for Your almighty power to do everything You want to do. Thank You for Your goodness and generosity to share Yourself with Your creation. You have placed Your beauty into everything You made, and You are our Standard for beauty and righteousness and justice and order.
Father, Your faithfulness assures me that You will finish everything You started, because You already see it all finished. You have done everything You planned, we are still just in the midst of it playing out.
I don't see what the future holds for me, but I know You are holding my future! So, my Father, continue to work in me and on me and for me and through me, to accomplish everything You put me here to do.
And You will receive all the credit for doing it all!
Every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--
Paul was writing this letter from prison, traditionally in Rome (Acts 28: 16-31).
if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you;
that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief.
By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
A mystery is something that is not known yet, and God had not revealed this part of His plan until He formed the church to be Christ's body. He gave this gracious task to Paul to reveal it.
to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
The mystery is that Jews and Gentiles will both be in the same family, not separated any more, as God had separated the Israelites from the pagan peoples that surrounded them. This is a totally new concept.
of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
Paul is the one God appointed to share this new phase of God's plan. God powerfully worked in Paul to save him, and teach him, and enable him to travel and preach; he was given this precious truth to share with us all!
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given,
Paul is amazed that God would choose him to give this message, he who had worked so hard against God to try to destroy His church!
to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
God chose to use Paul to let Gentiles know how much God Loves them, too, and wants them also to be washed clean, and to participate in God's program in the world today, and to be members of His own family. This is something that was only hinted at in the Old Testament, and is now fully explained (did you read yesterday's message?).
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
God wanted us to show His angels and the demons to see His amazing grace and goodness to us, His church; made up of all peoples and nations and tribes and colors and languages, from every area of the Earth where people live.
This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
This was always His plan from the very beginning, even before He created. He wanted everyone everywhere to know Him, to recognize His goodness and graciousness, in granting mercy to beings who could never deserve it, yet remaking them into glorious beings of light to help Him rule! From one extreme to the other! Only our God would do something like that!
in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Because Christ Jesus sacrificed His life and poured out His blood to cleanse us, now, by putting our faith and trust in Him, we can be God's own children in His royal family, with the right and permission to freely approach His very throne.
Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
Paul says, don't be sorry for me! He is in prison because He was preaching the Resurrection of Christ, and would not back down. Now he has the time and opportunity to write and encourage these believers at Ephesus, so it's a good thing, for their benefit.
For God to take the least of us, and put him at the head of the line, is just like our God! Jesus said that some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last (Luke 13: 30), and He took Paul, the least, and put him first!
Well, I can't claim to be the least, because Paul already took that spot! But I am one of "the least of these" who God rescued out of a deep pit of sin and deception, and He raised me up and set my feet upon the solid Rock of my Salvation! He was so gracious and merciful to me, to call me one of His chosen!
And He does the same for everyone who calls on Him! He is not willing that any would perish; He made the human race to be His children, and He wants everyone to hear about what His Son has accomplished, so that they would all realize how desperate they are, and turn to Him for Redemption!
God is merciful to not pour out His wrath on us, that we deserve; He poured that on Christ Jesus on the cross for us! And He is gracious to us in washing us clean, forgiving us totally, and giving us His own Spirit of Life into our spirit to make it alive. Now we are His family. His grace gives us all the goodness we could never earn or deserve!
And it is up to us, people, brothers and sisters, to tell everyone in the whole world! This is the "job" He gave us to do, why He leaves us here instead of taking us directly home!
We need to grow up, and we need to tell everybody what He has done for us as His witnesses, and we are to recognize that He is working through us to do all this. We are His hands and feet. Let's get to work!
O my Father, thank You so much for Your great mercy and grace! Thank You for Your almighty power to do everything You want to do. Thank You for Your goodness and generosity to share Yourself with Your creation. You have placed Your beauty into everything You made, and You are our Standard for beauty and righteousness and justice and order.
Father, Your faithfulness assures me that You will finish everything You started, because You already see it all finished. You have done everything You planned, we are still just in the midst of it playing out.
I don't see what the future holds for me, but I know You are holding my future! So, my Father, continue to work in me and on me and for me and through me, to accomplish everything You put me here to do.
And You will receive all the credit for doing it all!
Every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Enemies No More!
Ephesians 2: 11-22
Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands--
Remembering that we were dead, and now we're alive in Christ, Paul is bringing out the main differences between the Gentiles and the Jews.
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Remember before you were saved, while you were still dead, and were without any future or prospects.
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
These Gentiles who were so far away from God and God's people and His ways; now they have been washed clean in the blood of Christ and brought close to the heart of God.
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
Christ Jesus Himself is our peace, who tore down the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place where the Lord dwells--this is the wall that separated us from God. And the whole Law with the sacrificial system separated the Gentiles from Israel.
Now Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Law, has broken down all the barriers, and now welcomes all of Mankind into the chosen family of God.
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
Jesus' body and blood, on His altar, the cross, as the Lamb of God, fulfilled the sacrifices that were required; so we don't need to offer animals on altars any more, He finished it.
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
And by offering Himself He became our total remedy for reconciling with God and with one another. We're not enemies any more. We are all one body, and Jesus is our Head.
And
Christ Jesus proclaimed to both Jews and Gentiles that we are at peace with one another, and we have peace with God the Father; because we both, Jews and Gentiles, can now approach God the Father by the same Holy Spirit that lives in both of us.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,
Now both Jews and Gentiles are all saints, brought into the family of God together as His children, all one family.
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
Paul changes to another illustration, portraying us as a building. The foundation of this building is the apostles and prophets, and the corner stone that holds it together is Christ Jesus.
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Where God dwells is His temple. When He puts His Spirit into each of us, making us alive, then He dwells in us, individually. So the picture here is that we are living "stones" that are being laid on the foundation to build a building in Heaven for God to live in.
Right now as we live our lives here, God lives in each of us as a little miniature temple, so we can talk with Him any time, He's right here with us all the time. And when He gathers us together into one structure, then we will be His holy temple in Heaven where He lives.
And we read the end of the story in Revelation that Heaven comes down to the New Earth for God to dwell with His people, His family, forever (Revelation 21: 1-3).
This is the final destination that God has planned for us, and when we get there, I imagine that He has a lot more adventures for us, so we will be busy working on His good purposes for us forever!
In the mean time, while we're still here, we need to pay attention to all the lessons He is teaching us, and pass all the tests He presents to us, so that we will grow up to be the adults in His family. We're children in school now. No matter how many years we've been in this world, we're still children spiritually. We need to remember this, as well as where we're headed.
O my Father, Your plans are so wonderful! You have planned out my life so that I will face all the situations that will grow my faith and trust in You, and I ask You for the strength and perseverance and faithfulness to pass all the tests You will prove me with.
Send me out, Father; use me and my words and my actions to show the world who You are, and how much You Love each one of us! Enable me to demonstrate to others how You have already met all of our needs, and that You want them all to turn to You for cleansing and new birth.
Grow Your family, Father, using my hands and feet; to help Your children grow up, and to add many more children to Your household.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands--
Remembering that we were dead, and now we're alive in Christ, Paul is bringing out the main differences between the Gentiles and the Jews.
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Remember before you were saved, while you were still dead, and were without any future or prospects.
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
These Gentiles who were so far away from God and God's people and His ways; now they have been washed clean in the blood of Christ and brought close to the heart of God.
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
Christ Jesus Himself is our peace, who tore down the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place where the Lord dwells--this is the wall that separated us from God. And the whole Law with the sacrificial system separated the Gentiles from Israel.
Now Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Law, has broken down all the barriers, and now welcomes all of Mankind into the chosen family of God.
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
Jesus' body and blood, on His altar, the cross, as the Lamb of God, fulfilled the sacrifices that were required; so we don't need to offer animals on altars any more, He finished it.
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
And by offering Himself He became our total remedy for reconciling with God and with one another. We're not enemies any more. We are all one body, and Jesus is our Head.
And
He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near (Isaiah 57: 19);for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
Christ Jesus proclaimed to both Jews and Gentiles that we are at peace with one another, and we have peace with God the Father; because we both, Jews and Gentiles, can now approach God the Father by the same Holy Spirit that lives in both of us.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,
Now both Jews and Gentiles are all saints, brought into the family of God together as His children, all one family.
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
Paul changes to another illustration, portraying us as a building. The foundation of this building is the apostles and prophets, and the corner stone that holds it together is Christ Jesus.
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Where God dwells is His temple. When He puts His Spirit into each of us, making us alive, then He dwells in us, individually. So the picture here is that we are living "stones" that are being laid on the foundation to build a building in Heaven for God to live in.
Right now as we live our lives here, God lives in each of us as a little miniature temple, so we can talk with Him any time, He's right here with us all the time. And when He gathers us together into one structure, then we will be His holy temple in Heaven where He lives.
And we read the end of the story in Revelation that Heaven comes down to the New Earth for God to dwell with His people, His family, forever (Revelation 21: 1-3).
This is the final destination that God has planned for us, and when we get there, I imagine that He has a lot more adventures for us, so we will be busy working on His good purposes for us forever!
In the mean time, while we're still here, we need to pay attention to all the lessons He is teaching us, and pass all the tests He presents to us, so that we will grow up to be the adults in His family. We're children in school now. No matter how many years we've been in this world, we're still children spiritually. We need to remember this, as well as where we're headed.
O my Father, Your plans are so wonderful! You have planned out my life so that I will face all the situations that will grow my faith and trust in You, and I ask You for the strength and perseverance and faithfulness to pass all the tests You will prove me with.
Send me out, Father; use me and my words and my actions to show the world who You are, and how much You Love each one of us! Enable me to demonstrate to others how You have already met all of our needs, and that You want them all to turn to You for cleansing and new birth.
Grow Your family, Father, using my hands and feet; to help Your children grow up, and to add many more children to Your household.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
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