The Loaded Parenthesis...

Again, as stated in my previous study, Paul is attempting to begin a prayer for believers here....but he does not actually get to the prayer until verse 14 where he repeats the phrase that he began this chapter with...for this cause  It is best to see verse 2-13 as a parenthesis wherein Paul speaks once again of the truths he wrote about in Ephesians 2:11-22....that the Jew and Gentile are one in Christ...that there is no longer any distinction between them. The Gentiles are now fellow heirs, of the same body and partakers of His promises in Christ by the gospel.  


Verses 5-6: Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;  That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: This truth...that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel....was not made known to anyone prior to the church age. It was given to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit and not to any other persons before or after them.  The meaning of several passages in the Old Testament were not clearly understood until Paul revealed them through the inspiration of the Spirit of God in his letters.  John MacArthur mentioned a couple examples in his commentary on Ephesians Chapter 3.


Genesis 12:3 -  God's promise to Abraham:  I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you;  And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  No one knew the full meaning of this which is explained in Galatians 3:8:


And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”


Likewise no one knew the full meaning of Isaiah 49:6:   Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant  To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;  I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles  That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’”


Acts 13:46-47 explains it to mean that the gospel would be offered to the Jew and the Gentile alike. 



Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.  For so the Lord has commanded us:  I have set you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.


Bringing the Jew and the Gentile together in one body, the church, was something the Old Testament saints could not have even imagined...even the Jews in the early church...even Peter to whom the revelation was also given (Acts 10)  had difficulty with it.  John MacArthur likens it to saying that lepers were no longer to be isolated, that they were now free to intermingle and associate with everyone else as normal members of society.  In the mind of the Jew, their separation from the Gentile was so true and so right that the thought of equality before God was inconceivable.   For this reason, Paul explains,  states and restates this same truth many times.   


Verse 7-8:  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;...Paul understood that he was who he was by the grace of His God.  No one can make themselves a minister of God because the grace, calling and the power to fulfill are all from Him.  Paul considered himself the chief of sinners and the least of all the saints.  And yet...to him...it was given to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles!  It was God who made Paul a minister and it was God who always led Paul into triumph and diffused the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  


Verse 9:  and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;...the Jew and the Gentile are one in Christ...much was written on this.  See Ephesians 2:11-22


Verse 10-11:  to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,  according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,...The church is to glorify God...we are to show His wonderful works and manifold wisdom not only to the people of the world but to the angels...holy and unholy...to powers and authorities because all have been made subject to Him.  There is joy among the angels of God the Gospel of Luke says, when even one sinner repents.  Let the angels praise Him when they see the glory of God in the church!  


1 Peters 1 says this:


Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,  searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.


Verse 12:  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. We have access to God in Christ!  Read Hebrews 4:14-16


Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.


We can come boldly to His throne to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need!  


Verse 13:  Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Paul tells them not to lose heart because of the tribulations he faces...they are for their glory...his tribulations are being used to bring them to Christ and to glory!  Paul rejoiced in his sufferings knowing that God was doing exceedingly abundantly above all he could ask or think in bringing the Jew and the Gentile together as one in the body of Christ.  God produces glory through trials and suffering!  They are not for nought.  He uses them mightily in each believer's life.  Paul understood what he wrote in the Book of Romans...For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 


Next up...Paul's prayer.

All is Vanity....by Rebecca

“And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.” ~ Ecclesiastes 4:1-3, NKJV

An objective study of the book of Ecclesiastes does wonders for a bad case of living for this life. Solomon really doesn't leave any stones unturned - and everything he turns up is another nail in the coffin of satisfaction in this world. All is vanity (that is, absurdity, nonsense, futility) and grasping for the wind. Solomon already laid out the reasons that this life - no matter what you try to do - is futile. Now it gets worse. Not only is this life futile, it's evil! Look around you! Turn on the news! Open a history book! Look at yourself, look at the people around you - there's no getting away from the fact that the natural state of mankind is one of evil desires and evil deeds. Therefore Solomon praised the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are alive; but better was the one who never existed, because he never had to see the evil work done under the sun or experience judgment upon his own evil deeds.

Here are the facts: this life ends in death. Prior to death you will never satisfy the longing of your soul no matter what means you attempt or how high you go. During your brief span of life you will see mostly evil under the sun. When you die you will leave behind everything you labored for and your memory will soon be forgotten. Eventually even the universe itself will die.

Let those facts sink in and Solomon's words in verses 1-3 don't seem harsh at all.

But here is the truth: God is real, God is sovereign, and God is not dead. Mankind used the free will God gave him to corrupt himself and the creation given to him, but God in His mercy determined before the foundation of the world the way mankind would be redeemed. At the cost of His beloved and sinless Son He paid the price required to satisfy His perfect justice so that we could be forgiven. If Christ's willing sacrifice on our behalf is appropriated by the free will of the individual, we are saved out of death and judgment, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God. The separation between man and God caused by our sin is broken down and the longing of our souls may finally be satisfied by the only One who will ever satisfy it – God Himself. This life goes from being one of vanity and grasping for the wind to one of purpose and value, because the Lord has a plan for each one of His children in this world and He has prepared an infinite and glorious inheritance for us in the world to come. The child of God also knows that the evil presently under the sun is temporary, and will soon be done away with forever. He knows that the suffering he may experience in this life is nothing in comparison to the glory of what is to come, and that his trials are even being used for his good and blessing. He has certain hope and an unshakable foundation, and his heart is filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Life in denial of God...life blessed with a relationship with God. Compare the two. One is death. The other is life, and life abundantly. Which one you want is your choice.

The Prisoner of Jesus Christ...

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)--Ephesians 3:1-4

Paul is attempting to begin a prayer for believers here....but he does not actually get to the prayer until verse 14 where he repeats the phrase that he began this chapter with...for this cause  It is best to see verse 2-13 as a parenthesis wherein Paul speaks once again of the truths he wrote about in Ephesians 2:11-22....that the Jew and Gentile are one in Christ...that there is no longer any distinction between them. The Gentiles are now fellow heirs, of the same body and partakers of His promises in Christ by the gospel.  

We will be looking today at only the first 4 verses of Chapter 3.  Paul begins with, For this cause or for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles,. For this cause or reasons again refers back to the truths discussed in Chapter 2.  God has broken down the wall of separation between the Jew and the Gentile and has made one new man out of the two.  He has reconciled both unto God in one body by the cross.  The Gentiles who were once afar off from God have now been made near when they believe.  All believers are equal in Christ...members of His family and are all being built into God's temple and dwelling place.

Next, Paul tells us that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles.  The earthly reality is that Paul has been imprisoned for allegedly taking a Gentile into the forbidden areas of the temple....something he did not do.  Because of this Paul faced trials before the religious authorities, before the Roman governor, and before King Agrippa who would have released him had not Paul already appealed to Caesar.  Despite all of this, Paul did not consider himself to be a prisoner of the Jews or a prisoner of the Romans or of anyone but Jesus Christ.  I LOVE THAT!  Paul was a man with a mission given to him by God...to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile!   He trusted that God would do the work and fulfill all His purpose in him.  His job was to live by faith knowing that it all was in the hands of His God. The doings and plans of men would not succeed unless God allowed them to for His purposes.   Paul knew that His God would work all things together in his life for His purposes.  Read what the apostlel says in Philippians 1:

"But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO LIVE....TRUSTING GOD IN AND THROUGH IT ALL!  Paul understood that he was imprisoned for His purposes which was the saving of the Gentiles. God knew what He was doing...Paul rejoiced in His sufferings...he counted them all joy... knowing that God was working a perfect work in him and at the same time fulfilling His plan and will for the Gentiles!    He knew all would turn out for the furtherance of the gospel...verse 13 says this...Paul is speaking.

Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Paul knew that his suffering and sacrifices would bring others (specifically the Gentiles) to glory...that is what made it all worth it.  Like Christ he did it for the joy that was set before him....  

"For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God."2nd Corinthians 4:15 

Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:17

Verse 2-4...Paul wants the people to know that this revelation is not from him but from God. The apostle sees himself only as God's messenger of this truth...commissioned by His Grace.  He knew who he was before Christ...the chief of sinners.  How ironic is it for God to have chosen Paul who prior to conversion was a pharisee of pharisees and a persecutor of the church to bring the Gentiles to Christ.   

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.  The mystery of the Jew and Gentile becoming one in Christ was hidden from all men until it was revealed by God.

Paul was not the only recipient of this revelation...Peter was also.  (See Acts 11:1-18) The revelation is also consistent with OT Scripture and prophecy as Paul would have known having been steeped in the word.  His desire in verse 4 is that they would understand the truth of the revelation he was bringing them and be able to apply it in their lives.

Imitating God...

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. --Ephesians 5:1


Father,


Reproduce Your character and your love in me!!  This is the whole purpose of my existence...to become like You!  I was created to bring You glory.  I want to be beautiful in holiness...to be humble, kind, tender-hearted and merciful...to have the kind of love shed abroad in my heart that forgives others as You, Yourself forgave me. I want to be an imitator of You!   Help me to put off the old man...the useless and corrupted one and put on my new man created according to Your image.  I want my heart so filled with thankfulness for the mercy and grace You have shown me, that my outward demeanor becomes one of kindness always.


Your word tells me, Father, that Your amazing love has been poured out in MY heart.  Therefore, I can love as You loved.  I have been predestined by you, Father, to be conformed into the image of Your Son, who, because of the great love with which He loved me, died for me so that I could live forever with You.   Greater love has no man than this!   As much as I can by the power of Your Spirit and the work of Your grace in my heart, I want to resemble You.  This is the legacy that I want to leave to those You have placed in my life.  I want my words and my life to so resemble Your Son that when others see me they think Jesus!  I want it to be plain to all that I AM YOUR CHILD.


Live your perfect life through me, Father.  Let others know whose daughter I am by the fruits in my life....love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control....that are by your Son Jesus and that are unto Your glory and praise.

Wall of Separation

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.--Ephesians 2:11-22

To My Beloved Daughters in Him

Looking at verses 11 and 12 Paul speaks here to the Gentile Christians, but the exhortation is good for us as well.  Remember who you used to be!!  Aliens and strangers from the covenant of the promise...having no hope and without God!  Dead men walking.  God's chosen people were the Jews.  Gentiles were not able to partake of the promises given to the Jewish nation.   Thinking about living for a moment without my God and the sure and certain hope I have in Him makes me literally shudder.  

In Christ Jesus, I, who was once afar off have been brought near by the blood of my Savior, Jesus.  Without Christ, I am not only bereft of spiritual blessings, but I am in darkness...without peace, without rest, without safety and without protection.  My God is the anchor of my soul.  He is my sure and steadfast hope.  I was once a child of darkness but now I am light in the Lord.  By my belief in His Son, I am now a Jew inwardly where circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.   Read the following from Acts 10...Peter is speaking.

Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean....“In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— .... To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

There was contention between the Jew and the Gentile.  The source of it stemmed from the fact that the Gentile did not keep the law...  Jesus brought these two people groups together by the great love with which He loved us both....even when we were both dead in trespasses and sins. 

The middle wall of separation spoken of in these verses refers to a wall in the temple that separated the Jew and the Gentile.  Through His death Jesus, the Prince of Peace, broke down this wall of separation.  He abolished in His flesh the handwriting of the requirements that were against both Jew and Gentile...The Jew who was trying to be righteous before God under the law and the Gentile who was alienated from God spiritually and who did not keep the law.   Jesus became the common denominator...the One way  that both could draw near.   There is now no distinction between Jew and Gentile for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him....for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Read John 17 and see the desire of Jesus...

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

1st Timothy 2:5 says, "There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus"  We  have no access to God apart from Jesus Christ. 

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

Jesus took the Jew and the Gentile and brought them together into a new man and a new body...the church.  Stop and think for a moment what a beautiful picture that is.  The body of Christ is the church...this is the household of God that has been built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles with Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.  

Jesus is the foundation upon which we are built and are to build.  The message of the apostles and the prophets is that God has provided salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the way the truth and the life.  He is how we come to God.   Unless the Lord builds the house we labor in vain...  

This whole body even today is being fitted together and growing into the temple of the Lord...each one of us who believe is being grown into a holy dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.--2nd Corinthians 5:17

What is the main application I took away from this particular passage of Scripture? 

Simply that you cannot practice partiality and be consistent with calling yourself a Christian. You cannot hold the Christian faith which is centered with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. God shows no partiality.

Beloved, we are saved by God's grace alone. To treat those around us based on anything else is utterly and totally inconsistent with the doctrine of grace and with the Lord of glory.  If we really believe that we are saved by grace and it is nothing of ourselves, than that is the basis we will relate to others.  We will be good stewards of the manifold grace He has given us and show His grace to others.  Jesus broke down the wall of separation between the Jew and the Gentile and brought peace. Grace keeps the wall of separation down and provides the opportunity for the Spirit of God to work. 

The basis of our relationship with anyone should be the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We need to look at everyone with the eyes of Christ.  What we see will guide our thoughts, words and our actions in His love.  Warren Wiersbe puts it into such practical terms.  If the person is a Christian, we can accept him because Christ lives in him.  If the person is an unbeliever, we can receive him because Christ died for him."  Christ is the link between us and others.  Any other basis is not going to work.

Love

Mom

Forgiveness: The Greatest Evidence of Love

By John MacArthur from Ephesians Commentary. 

The greatest evidence of love is undeserved forgiveness. The supreme act of God’s love was to give “His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s love brought man’s forgiveness. God loved the world with such a great love that He offered forgiveness to sinful, rebellious, wretched, vile mankind, by sending His own Son to give His life on the cross that they might not suffer death. He offered the world the free gift of eternal fellowship with Him. 

Because forgiveness is the supreme evidence of God’s love, it will also be the most convincing proof of our love. Love will always lead us to forgive others just as love led God in Christ to forgive us (Eph. 4:32). 

Nothing more clearly discloses a hard, loveless heart than lack of forgiveness. Lack of forgiveness betrays lack of love (see 4:31). The presence of forgiveness always proves the presence of love, because only love has the motive and power to forgive. The extent of our love is the extent of our ability to forgive. Whatever another believer may do against us, no matter how terrible or destructive or unjustified, Christ has paid the penalty for that sin. No matter how others may hurt, slander, persecute, or in any way harm us, Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to pay their penalty. When a Christian expresses, or even harbors, vengeance toward a brother, he not only sins by allowing selfish hatred to control him but he sins by profaning Christ’s sacrifice—by seeking to mete out punishment for a sin whose penalty has already been paid by his Lord.

The Grinch's Expanded Heart...

 1 Peter 3:8-9  Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 

To My Beautiful Daughters in Him...

Been spending some time meditating a bit on these verses.  There is so much here. So many marvelous truths.  How do we as Christians, relate to others in a God glorifying manner...it is right here in these two verses.  

Verse 11 of Chapter 2 says "You're aliens and strangers...You're in a war not only against the soul but a war against the society around you and you must keep your behavior excellent among the pagans."  Peter went on to talk about three social relationships which demand godly living...citizens, employees and mates. Peter exhorts us to live out pure, godly lives...to live specifically in an evangelistic way before the world so that we glorify God in these relationships and we bring other people to the point where they will glorify Him in their day of visitation.  Visitation here means in the day of judgment.  In the day of judgment, then, they will face God redeemed and will not suffer His wrath.  It means you live your life in such a way as to bring others to Christ. It is living in accordance with God's will rather than self-will. That is the bottom line of living the good life.  How to do this is a paradox as it always is living for Jesus.  It is living opposite of how the world lives.

The first thing we are to do to live this way and heap not only blessings on ourselves but on others is to live with the right heart attitude.  The right heart attitude will be one of love.  Love is where it all begins.  The love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts will be made manifest in our dealings with others.

It will be evidenced by our like mindedness with other believers. There will be a harmony with God's people.   A unity of mind and a working together  for the purpose of doing the will of God here on earth. 

The right attitude also involves putting on of brotherly love and compassion for those God has placed in your lives...everyone..not just fellow Christians.  It is so easy to become hard-hearted in this world. We are constantly bombarded with bad news and evil.  It is easier just to insulate ourselves from all of it.  It hurts to love.  It hurts to open up your heart.  This is, however, what God wants us to do. Dig your roots down deep in the knowledge of what God has done for you...let mercy triumph in your heart and by His Spirit be actively compassionate, and lovingly concerned towards one another.  We are to love as brothers...sharing one another's joys and sorrows.  We are members of the same family.  When one hurts, the others should also.  When one is joyful, the others should be also.

Our hearts will be tender towards others...feeling their pain and sympathizing with them in an active way.  The right heart attitude also involves being courteous which means simply that you will be meek, humble and put others and their needs ahead of your own.

Peter goes on in verse 9 and exhorts us not to retaliate in kind when someone offends us or does evil toward us.  The right "God glorifying" response to offenses is not to return evil for evil or reviling for reviling but to respond with blessing.  Girls, the bible speaks to this very thing in so many many places.  God truly wanted us to hear this message and He exampled it mightily in His Son.  Returning good for evil goes so much against our flesh which almost always wants very much to respond with even greater evil.  If we want to obey our God, however, we will respond with blessings.  This CANNOT be done in our own strength. It must be done by the power of His Spirit working in our hearts.

When we do respond with blessing to evil done against us, oh, what blessings are ours. I can only describe the heart feeling that comes when I heap a blessing on someone who is not out for my good like this.  Think of when the Grinch's heart grew...that is how it feels...your chest expands...you can breathe easier.  You relax.  and your shoulders come down. You let go of something you didn't need and your whole body feels lighter somehow.  Joy has entered our heart and our capacity to love has been expanded!  What a lifting of the veil occurs as we see Jesus and what He has done for us then so much more clearly in our own hearts.  We begin to understand  the love that He wants us to show to others. We see the "self" that we need to die to. God operates with us on the basis of mercy...if it were not for His mercy all of us would be consumed and die in our sins. Returning evil for good is satanic.  Returning good for good or evil for evil is human.  Returning good for evil is divine.

We are to respond divinely as Jesus did.  "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."  I LOVE this statement. You were called, that's your election to salvation,  for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.  Your  election...your salvation is a free undeserved, unmerited gift from God.  You have been freely given and are to freely give in return.  Instead of wrath and vengeance from God for your sin and offense, He has given you mercy, salvation and abundant blessings in Him.  We should know then very well how to show mercy and give blessings to those that have offended us.  If we do not do this, then we are not even close to being aware of what we have been delivered from and blessed with. We should be jumping at the opportunity to bless someone else with the undeserved, unmerited free gift of forgiveness that we ourselves received from God.  

1 Peter 2:21-23 puts it this way: "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:  "WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;"

We are to depend on Him knowing that it is His battle and that the ONLY way to overcome evil is with good. Leave the vengeance and retaliation to Him.  He suffers long but as my pastor says, "do not mistake the longsuffering of God for indifference".  The time of judgment will come.  Our weapons are not carnal but spiritual...mighty in God.  We are to depend on prayer and His power. The greatest evil was overcome by the greatest goodness the world has ever seen...the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.

Love

Mom

Remember Me...

Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.--Psalm 25:6-7

Father,

Remember me, O LORD, according to thy mercy...remember Thou, me, for thy goodness' sake. You are the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort!  You regard my affliction...you hear my cry...you remember me according to the multitude of your tender mercies.  You remembered me in my lowest estate and made me your beloved daughter.   Your mercy, O God,  endures forever.

I want Your lovingkindness and truth to continually preserve me. So many evils surround me and my heart fails...be pleased O Lord to be with me and deliver me.  In the acceptable time, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me...bring me up out of the mire.  Keep me from sinking, Father!

Despite the wickedness of my heart, You, Father, have delivered my soul from the pit of corruption and cast my sins behind my back.  You are my God that blots out my transgressions and remembers my sin no more.  Help me O God and save me for Your mercy's sake.  Make Your face shine upon me...I have called upon You...let me not be ashamed.  I am accepted in Your beloved Son, Jesus.  Through Him I have obtained redemption by His blood...in Him I have forgiveness of sins...in Him I have an inheritance  that is incorruptible and undefiled, that will not fade away...reserved in heaven for me!

Walking Worthy!

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


Father,


I am your workmanship...ME!  I love meditating on that!  I am precious to You, my God...chosen, set apart and loved BEFORE the foundation of the world.  I am Yours...You have formed me for Yourself that I might show forth Your praise.   Lord, You have made me, bought me and established me.  You will make perfect all that concerns me.  I will not be forgotten of You nor will You forsake the work of Your hands.   I am confident that You who began a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ...for it is You who works in me both to will and to do for Your good pleasure.



Before I can do anything good, Father, You must do Your good work of salvation in me.  Without You, I can do nothing.  You have created in me a clean heart and renewed a right spirit within me.  I have been renewed in Your knowledge.   I am in your Son!  I am a new creature; old things have passed away...You, Father, make all things new! Fill me with your forgiveness and tender mercies toward others.   Let them emanate from my innermost being and may my outward demeanor reflect my inward heart that is set on You.  I want your fruits evident in my life.  


I have been created in Your image...in Your likeness for good works which You prepared beforehand for ME!  I beseech You, help me to walk worthy of the calling with which I have been called!  I want to be holy and blameless before You in love!  Let me walk with all lowliness, meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with others in love.   Your love...is the bond of perfection..pour it out in my heart! As much as depends on me Father, let me live peaceably with all men.  Help me to hearken unto You and walk in Your ways.   Let my light so shine that others will see my good works and glorify You, my Father in heaven.  Make me perfect in every good work...Work in me what is well pleasing in Your sight.  

AND YOU HE MADE ALIVE

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised usup together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.--Ephesians 2:1-10


To My Daughters in Him,


I memorized the first 10 verses of Ephesians chapter 2 over 15 years ago.  No other set of verses in the Bible have been more of a blessing to my heart than these.  They remind me that at one time I was dead in trespasses and sins...a child of wrath...I was a slave to sin....a dead man walking.  They remind me that but for the grace, mercy and love of my God, I would still be in that state.  My God made me alive together with Him, forgiving all my sins by blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that were not only against me, but contrary to me.  He did not wave what stood against me (my sins) in my face and send me to hell.  NO!  He took them out of the way and nailed them to the cross and the spike used went through the palms of my Jesus.  My God disarmed principalities and powers  and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them. 


When I am tempted in pride to feel superior to another,  I recall this verse:  AND YOU HE MADE ALIVE WHO WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS.  It is so easy for me to think I am something...I so need the reminders in the word of God that tell me otherwise...that tell me that apart from God I am nothing.  I am spiritually dead...unable to experience anything good.   Possession of true life comes through Jesus.  He who has the Son has life, He who does not have the Son does not have life.  


We have been saved by grace alone through faith alone...there is nothing in salvation that man can glory in but God.  Because of the work of my Jesus on the cross, I are now and forever under His banner of love and delivered from the kingdom of darkness, from condemnation and from divine judgment. Salvation from sin and death is by and because of the love of God.  That is the motivator. It was because of His great love that He provided a way for us to return to Him. When we reject Him, we not only reject His Lordship in our lives but we reject the great love with which He loved us.  It is His love that reaches out to each one of us who are His enemies...sinful, rebellious and depraved....and offers us not only salvation but every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 


What then should be my response to God as His chosen one...holy and beloved?  Colossians 3 comes to mind...pay special attention to the last paragraph (verses 12-17).  


If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  


Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,  in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.


But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,  and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slavenor free, but Christ is all and in all.


Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.--Colossians 3:1-17


Love
Mom

The Fullness of God!

Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.--Ephesians 1:21-23


Paul's first request was that our eyes would be enlightened to see the greatness of His plan...his second request... that we would know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe...His third... that we would be able to comprehend His majesty.  To really see as Isaiah did.. the Lord..high and lifted up.

Girls,  let us be overcome by His majesty...let us stand in awe of the greatness of He who lives and reigns within our very own hearts.  Remember Jesus...the One whom God sent to die for us...the One who now lives to make intercession for us.  Remember the Man seated at the right hand of the throne of God...He identifies with us, sympathizes with us and completely and utterly understands all that we go through.  Behold the Son of God!  Focus on the greatness of His plan, the might of His power and the exceeding beauty of His holiness and majesty.  Take your eyes off of all your "issues" and "problems" and place them on the Lord of glory Himself.

Allow His Spirit to give you the understanding to comprehend even a teeny bit of what Paul has prayed.  My Jesus is above every name that is named in both heaven and earth.  This is My Jesus...I am His...He is the One that fights for me...sustains me...secures me and empowers me to live for Him.  He who is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion...not only in this age but also in the age to come has placed His banner of love over me.  My Beloved is mine and I am His.

His majesty should terrify us but He is a Father to us...His humility not only increases His greatness but also allows us to draw close to Him without fear.  In fact, it is His kindness that leads us to repentance.  Yes, my God is high above the nations and His glory above the heavens but He who dwells on high humbles Himself to behold the things that are on the earth.  He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap that He may sit him with princes.  My awesome God, who is rich in mercy and loves me with an everlasting love even when I was dead in trespasses and sin, made ME alive together with Him and raised me up together with His Son and has made me sit in together with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. I am filled with the One whose love passes all knowledge!   I am filled with the fullness of God!

The Exceeding Greatness of His Power...

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,--Ephesians 1:19-20

In verses 17 and 18 Paul prayed that the Ephesians would know the greatness of God's plan for them...what was the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of their inheritance.  Here in verses 19 and 20 he prays that they would understand the exceeding greatness of His power that will bring them who believe to their inheritance in glory.

Believers are given all the power, strength and ability they could ever have in Christ.   It is His power that saves us and His power that sustains and keeps us.  Whatever His plan for us,  we have been given the power to do it.   He is able to do exceedingly abundantly Paul says, above all that we could ask or think according to His power that works in us. IT IS NOT OF US.  We have this treasure in our earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.  For it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  We are not sufficient of ourselves, our sufficiency is from Him.  He is the one who makes us perfect in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus, His Son.  Are you getting the message...that it is His strength, His ability, His power....not ours.  Oh, that my God would count me worthy of this calling, and fulfill in me all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power.

Don't ask God for more power...you already have it.  His strength....His might supplies every believer and will glorify every believer.  This is the same power that God brought about in Jesus His Son when he raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.  The same divine power that lifted Jesus from the grave to the earth and then from the earth to heaven is the very power that will lift us to glory and will seat us there with Him in the heavenly places.  If you doubt anything...look to what God our Father wrought in Christ...He is faithful and will complete this work on our behalf.  Truly we have no grounds for doubting.  We have been raised with Christ...seek therefore those things which are from above where Christ sits at the right hand of God.  Set your affection there...not on things of the earth...For you are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When He, who is our life appears, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will,  working in You that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen. --Hebrews 13:20-21

Open My Eyes...

Ephesians 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Father,

Open my eyes that I may see the wondrous things out of Your word.  Open the eyes of my understanding.....I want to walk as a child of light.  Lord, You commanded the light to shine out of darkness....You have shined in my heart...Give me the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Your Son, Jesus Christ...not just for me but for all whom You have placed in my life.

My hope is in You.   I, who was once an enemy of Christ...alone in this world and without God, have been brought nigh to You by the blood of Your Son.  You, Jesus, are my peace.  I have been justified by Your grace and have obtained eternal life.  Whether I  "awake" or "sleep" in death, I am with my God.  What a comfort that is.  I belong to You....there is no where I can flee from Your Spirit.  When I awake in heaven it will be in Your likeness and in You, right now, is where I live, move, and have my being.  Biblical hope is not like worldly hope...biblical hope is sure and certain..as if it had already occurred.  My hope that I have in You is based on your sure and certain word.  You are the same yesterday today and forever.  You do not change and magnify Your word above Your name.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.--Romans 8:35-39


Father...your plan of redemption from before the dawn of time itself...from before the foundation of the world is so magnificent and wondrous.  My finite brain cannot begin to comprehend it.  It is only by your Spirit that I can even begin to fathom its depths and soar to its heights.  MY LIFE IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN ANCHORED IN ETERNITY.  YOU HAVE PLANNED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF MY DAYS AS PART OF YOUR ETERNAL PLAN.  TRULY COMPREHENDING WHO I AM IN CHRIST WOULD MAKE ALL THINGS IN THIS WORLD FADE.  


"Eye has not seen nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  

"Our being glorious children of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ of all God possesses is the consummation and end of salvation promised from eternity past and held in hope until the future manifestation of Christ. There is nothing more to seek, nothing more to be given or received. We have it all now, and we will have it throughout eternity--John MacArthur

Your plan for me is that I would be conformed to the image of Your Son...that is the goal.  Help me Father, to walk worthy of this vocation into which I have been called.  Help me to walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.  I want to press on like Paul toward the goal of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  Help me, Lord, to be likeminded with Your Son and follow the example He set.  Whatever I do or say may it be for your glory.  

My Desire...

Today we will be looking at verse 17 of Chapter 1 of Ephesians...


"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:"

God the Father is not only our God but also the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This makes my brain hurt.  I do not claim to even begin to understand it.  Verse 2 of Ephesians, Chapter 1 begins with this verse: "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."  The bolded conjunction "and" indicates equivalence; that is, the Lord Jesus Christ is equally divine with the Father.  So Jesus is God...He is equally divine with the Father and yet God is not only our Father but His as well.  Jesus says this in John 20:17:

"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

Paul begins his prayer for these precious believers with thanksgiving.  True faith cannot exist apart from true love.  We can't love Jesus without loving His people.  (1 John 5:1) Paul is rejoicing and thanking His God that the Ephesians had both.  He then petitions God.  Read the prayer again here...it is beautiful. 

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,   Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.--Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul prays here that the Ephesians saints would be given the spirit of wisdom and knowledge of Him so that their predominant mindset would be one of total comprehension of what they have been given in Christ.  I so want that...I don't want head knowledge only...I want heart knowledge.  I want the disposition of my mind and heart to be filled with Him.  I want to really know...to really comprehend and appreciate the magnificent blessings that belong to me in Him.  I want to truly "see" what I have in Him already...I don't want to waste time searching for what is already available to me.  Instead, I want to remember to look to my God...He is the source of all I need...He is the Becoming One...the Great I AM.  He has all I need...my job is to open my mouth wide and receive it.  This is the mindset I am praying for!!!  2nd Peter 1 tells us that "His divine power has already granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." We are in need of nothing else...


Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ" 


Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should (reverence) Him"


So often we pray for what is already ours in Him.  Do not pray for those things you have already been given as if God were withholding them from you...pray with the attitude Paul has here.  Seek in prayer to appropriate what is already yours in Him.  John MacArthur tells us that our problem as believers is not our lack of blessings, but lack of insight and wisdom to understand and use them properly and faithfully.  Our blessings are so vast that the human mind cannot comprehend them.  Only the Spirit who searches the deep things of the mind of God can bring them to our understanding.  We can't comprehend them in our finite mind, but now we have the mind of Christ... and God has revealed them through the Spirit...for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  


1 Corinthians 2:9-16  But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.