Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 7)

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, 'When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. 'In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

Paul now speaks on the unity that is found in the body of Christ (the church). Paul continually talks about love being the motivation behind everything we do as believers. Understanding that God has made grace available to us as a gift through the subsequent life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (v.7) will help us realize who truly is in control. Because of Jesus' great love for us and His great sacrifice of Himself, we can now experience a truly wonderfully, grace filled, Holy Spirit led existence.

If love is the driving factor in the church, then everything we say and do should be clothed in love...especially where issues of methodology and practice are seen differently. We are all called to be witness of God's grace and message of reconciliation, but the ways we go about doing that may be different, actually should be different. The issue is not the message, but how we proclaim it. We are all created with different gifts and talents, and we are all called to reach different people, in different contexts, with differing ways of communicating the Gospel. Understanding our diversity within the body of Christ will help us to keep love the focus, and most likely help us realize how God wants to use us in the culture He has placed us in.

Final Thought– May we build on the essential things we agree on, in love, to build the church up (v.16), and be gracious to others when secondary matters are discussed.

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 6)

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Paul's prayer is that since God has Sovereign control over everything, we should look to Jesus because He is the fullness of God, essentially the fullness of God Dwelling in human form/flesh. We look to Jesus for strength to understand the vast love, grace, mercy and Sovereignty of God. Not only is Jesus the example we look to, but the very source of who and what we are looking to. Paul's desire is that we all would be filled with the fullness of God, receiving it because we have experienced the love of Jesus that surpasses all human knowledge.

This work is clearly done by God, through Jesus, imparted to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we realize that we have no part in the "doing" or "work" it frees us up to focus on God as ultimate. He will do the work through us as vessels when He's ready, and how He desires. Our responsibility is to continually look to Jesus for everything, realizing that God works through Jesus to impart what he has for us.

Paul's encouragement is for us to be strengthened with God's power (by keeping Him Ultimate in our lives) so that three things can happen in our lives:

1) So that Jesus will Dwell in our hearts through Faith.
Jesus wants to take up residence in our lives, and Paul prays that we would desire to have Jesus dwell in us. The motivation is for loving relationship, the outcome is a deeper relationship and understanding of who Jesus is and what faith in Jesus looks like in our lives.

2) So that we can comprehend the love of Jesus.
Again, the driving factor is love. When Jesus begins to dwell in us, we begin to experience the amazing depths of God's essence. When we realize how much God loves us, how much He sacrificed when Jesus had to die for me and my sins, so that I could be reconciled back to God, I have a deeper love for others. No sacrifice is greater than Jesus' sacrifice and therefore (because I have personally experienced His love) I should desire to love others regardless of what they have done to me. Through the working of the Spirit, we are enabled and empowered to love in this sacrificial way, which draws us into partnership with God in His mission of reconciling the world.

3) So that we may be filled up to all the Fullness of God.
When we experience the fullness of God, it leads to a greater understanding of God and his works. Experiencing the fullness of God brings us to a realization of who we are, who Jesus is, what God has done for us through Jesus, and how we are empowered by the Spirit to live out the reality of God being ultimate in our lives. God wants to give us understanding of spiritual matters, He wants us to know Him deeper and fuller, and He desires to equip us for mission. Some people believe that God doesn't want us to know things, yet Paul makes it very clear that God desires to teach us and for us to learn more about Him. This brings God great glory and honor, and makes Godliness a reachable goal.

Final Thought– Try to understand and experience how powerful God truly is. Rest in His Sovereignty, knowing that His will will be done, and that it will be perfect. Truly purse and desire God's glory, and you will find yourself filled with the Fullness of God.

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 5)

"For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory."

God's Sovereign will is realized and experienced through Jesus revealing the mystery of God's grace. God chose this specific time to send Jesus and the full revelation of God's sovereign plan. It's interesting to me how Paul explains that the fullness of Jesus hadn't been previously revealed, but was now (in Paul's time). It must have been hard for God's people before Jesus showed up, to understand and have complete revelation of God's plan. Like Paul, I'm so thankful that He sent Jesus when He did and gave life to me when He did.

It's great to know that everyone (both Jew & Gentile) are accepted by God on the basis of God's sovereign election through the work of Jesus! I'm so thankful for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, and for God choosing to make me an heir for eternity! Do you have the same appreciation for God's timing and call for your life?

Final Thought– Continue to walk close with Jesus in this season of joy that we're in. Stay as close as you can to Him and accept that God's plan is perfect and designed to draw us closer to Him. Regardless of what our circumstances and situations look like today, we must remember that they are ordained by God to work for His glory and praise. God's redemptive plan has been revealed in and through Jesus, so rest in Him and take refuge in the truth that God has provided us a way to be reconciled to Him.

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 4)

"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to 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 us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

I noticed that Paul four times talks about Peace in this section
(v.14, v.15 & v.17). He explains that their is peace in the believers life through and because of Jesus. So, not only do we now have peace with God, but we can also experience peace here on earth, in our daily lives. Because Jesus is the cornerstone, we can experience peace even when times are tough, situations and circumstances seem completely un-peaceful, and especially when God is silently stretching our faith and teaching us new and needed lessons (of which I am continually experiencing).

I've noticed in my life, I always want peace when I can't hear God's voice. I don't hear Him audibly or anything like that, but I know when God is speaking and when He is remaining silent. Usually it involves some major decision or life crisis, and when I try to move without hearing from Him it always goes bad. But the weird thing is, that I almost only want to hear from Him when a decision needs to be made or I have some problem that I need Him to fix. I don't find myself seeking His peace when things are going good, only when things are messy. It's hard to have peace when I feel all alone, yet it's not something I desire when I have it. Do you get what I'm saying?

What Paul seems to be getting at in these few verses is that with Jesus, peace is continually available. We have peace with God because of Jesus sacrificial life, death, burial and resurrection. Jesus has reconciled us back to God and now our lives are intertwined with God because Jesus presents us to the Father completely sinless, washed by the blood of Jesus. We have a new citizenship and acceptance because of Jesus, so why don't we have peace? What can separate us from God's love?...nothing! Why do we often worry about our future, finances, and past failures? Is it because we truly have not experienced the peace that Jesus offers? I think most of us never experience peace because we never truly experience who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. I mean we know the right Scriptures (and often use them in times of crisis), we speak "Christianese" and know what we are supposed to say (especially when we are "in church" or talking to the "pastor"), heck we even drive around with ridiculous bumper stickers like "Real Men Love Jesus," without the slightest awareness of what it truly means to love and know Him. Now I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, and I'm certainly not saying that if you do any of the things you're not a believer, I'm just thinking about all the years that I said I was a Christian, and had no idea what that even meant (beyond I'm saved from my sin so I get to go to heaven).

This was supposed to be a quick post for the week, but I guess there's some stuff bottled up inside me that just needs to come out. So here are the final thoughts. Have you experienced the peace that Paul talks about here in Ephesians 2? Do you know who Jesus is and what your relationship with Him looks like? Maybe it's time to get real with God. Maybe it's time to cry out, "Jesus I'm begging You to mediate to the Father for me! I need to know what You want for my life and family. Would you please send me your peace today!" If you're in this spot, be encouraged. It has taken me a long time to understand my position in Christ (and I still am just at the beginning), but I think that getting to this point is a great place to start. Look, listen, and wait for the peace that only Jesus brings, because if you truly seek Him, He will reveal Himself to you.

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 3)

Paul begins Chapter two by outlining a contrast between the hopeless condition of the nonbeliever compared to the new glorified position believers have because God pours out his grace on Christians through his saving initiative. The Christians hope is in God's free gift of salvation through the working out of God's grace. Paul explains,

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

1) God Fervently Pursues Messed Up People!
Paul emphasizes in this section how God helps the helpless! Even more, He helps His enemies who have transgressed his holy law. He pursues the ones who hate Him and offers His enemies the gift of reconciliation. Bottom line, God fervently pursues messed up people! Thankfully we all fall into this category, so we all have the opportunity to experience a relentless love that isn't based on our goodness or faithfulness, but on His relentless, unmerited, unearned, undeserved Grace.

2) We All Were Once Lost.
Paul says we walked like the rest of mankind– following the course of the world. Here it seems like we were just going with the flow, not interested in a better path or way of life, just following whatever and whoever was leading– almost like blindly just being...dead.

3) God Does All The Work.
But then he makes it clear (v.4) that because of God's mercy, love, and grace– instead of being dead in those things, we are actually made alive in Jesus. We are saved by God's grace through the gift of faith– to believe in Jesus as Savior. All this is God's doing, God's working, and God's gift of grace.
This text has nothing to do with our works– it all begins and ends by God's providence to offer salvation based on His election, plan, and purpose. It seems very disrespectful to believe that we have anything to do with salvation, because Paul here clearly explains that it's all about God and through God.

Final Thoughts– Continue to trust God for everything, through the gift of faith. Don't try to do or accomplish anything except what God leads you to do, say, and accomplish– let Him be Lord! He gives us the faith to believe, offers us grace through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and sends the Holy Spirit to work in and through us sanctification. It's all about God, has been and will be, be sure we don't ever lose that truth, because the minute we do, we make it about us and what we are going to do for Him.

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 2)

In this final section in Chapter one of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul moves into a hopeful prayer for the church that they will be able to gain deeper insight into the powerful workings of God in every circumstance and situation, as well as the rich gifts that are to be found in Jesus. Picking up in verse 15 of chapter 1, Paul prays,

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

1) God desires to give us a spirit of wisdom, revelation, and a deep knowledge of Himself. The central issue here is the magnitude of the glory of God. Notice that the reason God gives us these insights and gifts is so we will be able to know Him more, which naturally draws us to worship Him as Ultimate in our lives, which naturally brings Him glory. While He is not obligated to give us anything, He gives us everything, so that we will in turn give everything we have to Him. He is the one who does the work and our worship for Him as ultimate is the goal, again the core issue is God's glory.

2) God wants us to understand His immeasurable greatness, power, and might combined with an ultimate authority over everything on earth and in heaven. I believe if we truly understand God's greatness, it will cause us to be more reliant on Him. It might even make us question Him less when things go bad, although I'm not completely convinced that this truly can ever happen (at least in this life), but maybe as we purpose to glorify and worship Him, life becomes easier to turn over to Him every situation/ circumstance (both good and difficult/hard).

3) Jesus is the Senior Pastor of the Church. It is super important to recognize this truth. Understanding that Jesus leads His church in position #1 is the starting place for any church. Men are not perfect, and even the most educated, gifted leaders can make mistakes. I'm convinced at this point in my life that Jesus absolutely needs to be the Senior Pastor of the church that He has called me to under-shepherd, and that anything we do must be because He leads us to it. Any move we make, every step our churches take must be because of Jesus' direction and calling.

Final Thoughts– As Paul closes the first chapter with prayer, I thought it would be wise to do the same here. My prayer is, "Help me Lord to see you for who you truly are and help me to see how great and powerful your might is. Help me with my reliance upon you for everything, and please help me keep you the focus of everything, giving you glory and honor in everything from leading and loving my family, church, friends, family and the lost, to having faith when things do not go the way I had hoped. Please help me to see your Son in the light of your glory and help me to continually be looking to glorify you in everything I do."

Encountering the Mysteries of God (Part 1)

Started reading Ephesians for my quiet time today, and want to start sharing my thoughts here. Hopefully this will turn into some kind of sermon series down the line, but for now I'd just like to share what God is highlighting to me from the Scriptures. We begin in verse one of chapter one:

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

The Apostle Paul begins this letter with the truth that God has initiated and accomplished reconciliation and redemption for the praise of his glory, through the person and work of Jesus. It's important to start with this truth, because it's about who God is and what He has done, not about what we've done. The work is done by God because of and for His glory. We receive the gift of salvation by His grace, not our works or merit, and He offers us His grace because it is the essence of His glory.

We see four things from this section of Scripture that testify to the above statements:

1) God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing because of Jesus. Usually the first thing we want to do is find out what our "spiritual blessing is?" But those blessings are nothing without Jesus. While they are important for the Christian life and ministry, what's more important is to know Jesus personally. It all begins and ends with Jesus.

2) God has chosen and predestined us to be His, He has adopted us as sons and daughters by His will. Again, it's not about us living our best life now, it's about God's sovereign election of His sons and daughters. To know that God has chosen me makes life all the more easier to live, because when I fail, I know that God will always forgive me and take me back because He has chosen me to be His. Jesus secured this election when He gave His life for me on the cross, so that now I can be called God's sons.

3) God has given us an inheritance because He desired to give it to us, and we receive this gift because Jesus died for our sin and has fulfilled God's predetermined plan. With all the economic hard times we each have, it is so comforting to know that our eternity is secure. This life is going to be difficult and will at times seem almost unbearable, but if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and His reconciling work of redemption, we will be able to see more clearly what is waiting for us in heaven, and then this life actually get's a little easier to handle because our focus changes from me, me, me, into pursuing a relationship with Jesus.

Final Thoughts. Faith is a funny thing, I have always seen faith as a series of steps. When we first come to Jesus for salvation, we believe He can save us and reconcile us to God. This is a huge step when we begin to understand our total depravity and the magnitude of our sinful actions and desires. Then, we begin to trust Jesus more and more as we grow in our understanding of the grace that has been given to us. It seems that the natural progression then is to continue to trust Christ with more and more, until we just find total dependence upon Him a non-negotiable for life. Once that sanctification begins to manifest itself in our lives, we begin to trust that God has us in the place He has already predetermined, and if He wants us to move, He will open the door and guide us to and threw it. Our desire should be His the glory of His purpose and plan, not our own glory, our own plan. Honestly, this kind of faith isn't going to happen overnight, but over time, through God's sanctifying work in us, I believe we will get to that place where the spiritual blessings He has bestowed on us will work themselves out in tangible ways that we can hold on to for strength when times are tough.