Ephesians 1 Part 3 (4-3-05)

Ephesians 1 - Part 3

(Bible Study Time 4-3-05)

Last week we saw in Ephesians, Chapter 1, that believers were predestined to be adopted to God as sons by the redemption that is found in the blood of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, while we are sons of God by adoption.

God’s willingness to take certain human beings as his own sons is a doctrine which is first presented by the prophet Hosea. In Hosea’s day, the nation of Israel had forsaken God and His Law. They had taken Baal as their God, and as a result, God said that they were like an adulterous wife. He had been a faithful husband to Israel, but Israel had been unfaithful to God.

God told Hosea to take a prostitute as his wife to illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness. As a result, Hosea married a woman named Gomer whose first child was a son named Jezreel. Jezreel pictured Israel’s future destruction. Then Gomer bore a daughter who was named Lo-Ruhamah, and this indicated the fact that God would not have mercy on Israel when her time of judgment was at hand. Next, Gomer bore a son whose name was Lo-Ammi which means "not my people," for God was going to turn His back on the nation of Israel because of her sin. However, God did promise that He would someday restore the glory of Israel.

Hosea 1:9-11 (NKJ)
9 Then God said: "Call his name Lo_Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.
10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'
11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!

Hosea clearly stated that in the very same place where God said to Israel, "You are not my people," God will say to Israel, "You are sons of the living God." God pronounced a judgment of destruction and devastation upon Israel but gave the hope that some day they would not only come back to their land, but they would come back as sons of the living God.

Israel’s kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians 700 years before Christ, and the people of those northern 10 tribes have never returned to their land even to this day. But Hosea, Chapter 2, confirms that the northern 10 tribes of Israel will be restored some day.

Hosea 2:13-23 (NKJ)
13 I will punish Israel for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers; but Me she forgot," says the LORD.
14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.

This is reminiscent of the time that God spent with Israel in the wilderness after Israel refused to enter the promised land at Kadesh-Barnea. He protected them for 40 years in the wilderness as He prepared them to finally enter the promised land.

The Book of the Revelation gives the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophesy and says that God will protect and prepare all 12 tribes of the nation of Israel in the wilderness during the tribulation period. In Revelation, Chapter 12, John speaks of Israel as the woman who gave birth to a child that the devil tried to destroy.

Revelation 12:4-5 (NKJ)
4 The dragon’s tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

Clearly, the woman is Israel and her child is Jesus Christ. The dragon is the devil who tried to destroy the Lord Jesus by means of the crucifixion, but the Lord Jesus rose up from the grave and was taken up into heaven to be with God. Then the Revelation speaks of a time which is still in the future for us.

Revelation 12:6 (NKJ)
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

This will be a period of three and a half years according to the Jewish calendar. Then the dragon is to be cast out of heaven.

Revelation 12:13-17
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Hosea was hinting at this time of tribulation when he said that God would allure Israel and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. Hosea says that there in the wilderness, Israel will turn to God in faith.

Hosea 2:15-23 (NKJ)
15 I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 "And it shall be, in that day," says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,' and no longer call Me 'My Master,'
17 For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely.
19 "I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.
21 "It shall come to pass in that day that I will answer," says the LORD; "I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer with grain, with new wine, and with oil; they shall answer Jezreel.
23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!' "

So Hosea tells of the time when God will made a covenant between Israel and all of nature during a kingdom of peace and prosperity on the earth. According to Jeremiah, this will be a new covenant, different from the Mosaic Law, for in this covenant God will write His law in the hearts of the people, and as Hosea said, they will all know the Lord. This great New Covenant kingdom will follow the tribulation period and the return of Christ to the earth, and it will be a time when Israel will be called "sons of the living God."

As Paul preached the gospel of the New Covenant kingdom during the Acts period, he boldly proclaimed that Jesus Christ had come to shed the blood of the New Covenant, and he reminded his readers many times that God had made it possible for them to become the sons of God through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:24-26 (NKJ)
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 4:4-6 (NKJ)
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"

Paul goes on in Galatians, Chapter 4, to explain that the Law of the Old Covenant had nothing in common with the Holy Spirit which comes by the New Covenant. Just as Hagar and her son, Ishmael, had to be cast out, even so the law with its commandments and ceremonies had to be set aside for the promise of the New Covenant kingdom to be realized.

In Romans, Chapter 8, Paul reemphasized the fact that Israel’s hope of the New Covenant was based in the power of the Holy Spirit Who brings the believer into relationship with God as a son.

Romans 8:14-17 (NKJ)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs__ heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

In Romans 9, Paul proved that some Jews were not saved, while some Gentiles were saved. He reminded his readers that God will have mercy on whomever He will have mercy, and He will have compassion on whomever He will have compassion. Paul said that some Jews were vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, while other Jews were vessels of mercy prepared beforehand for glory. Paul quoted Hosea to prove that God will bestow the blessing of the New Covenant only on the believing remnant of Israel.

Romans 9:25-26 (NKJ)
25 As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved."
26 "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God."

Israel’s hope of the New Covenant kingdom was temporarily set aside at the end of the book of Acts, and the Church which is the Body of Christ was revealed in Paul’s prison epistles. These two different groups of believers have much in common. The New Covenant believers of the Acts period and the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ are both redeemed by the same blood which was shed by the Lord Jesus at Calvary. Both groups of believers have the same indwelling Holy Spirit for there is but one Spirit according to Ephesians, Chapter 4. And both groups are called to be sons of God. The prophets spoke of the day when Israel would be called the sons of God, and last week we saw that God has predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph 1:5).

Well, I see our time is nearly gone. It has been a pleasuring being with you this morning. Thank you listening and be sure to tune in again next week at this same time for another broadcast of Bible Study Time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesians 1 Part 2 (3-27-05)

Ephesians 1 - Part 2

(Bible Study Time 3-27-05)

Last week we started a study of the book of Ephesians where the Apostle Paul used the term saints to refer to all the faithful in Christ Jesus. The scriptures repeatedly confirm for us that all believers are saints for they have been set apart by God and for God. Paul expressed his desire to see all believers experience the peace of God which has been given to us by God's grace. Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, and verse 4 says that we were chosen in Christ even before the foundation of the world.

Foundation in the Greek is katabole which means disposition, while the word for world is kosmos which means order. Therefore, in a literal sense, we were chosen in Christ before God gave the "disposition of the order." Well, what order was Paul talking about?

Many times in the New Testament scriptures we see the word kosmos used for the physical universe. Romans 5 says that by one man sin entered into the kosmos. Isn't that interesting? Sometimes people think that the Bible has an antifeminine bias, but who did God blame for sin. God placed the blame for sin squarely on Adam, even though it was Eve who was first deceived by the serpent.

Gentlemen, God holds us responsible for the spiritual well being of those we love. It would be a grave mistake to think that all God expects from us is to make enough money to send the kids to college. Oh no. God expects us to provide an environment for our family, for our wife and for our children, where the name of the Lord is uplifted and glorified and where His Word is actively taught.

But it was through Adam that sin entered into the world, and someday the curse will be lifted from the world because of what the man, Christ Jesus, accomplished upon the cross of Calvary. But that curse will not be lifted until the people of the world choose to trust Jesus Christ for their salvation. When Christ returns to the earth at the end of the tribulation period, unbelievers will be sentenced to death, and the believers will enter into Israel's promised kingdom. Of coarse, the believers of our present age, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, will be taken out of the world and up into the heavenly places with Christ before the tribulation period begins.

John, Chapter 1, speaks of Jesus and says, (John 1:9_10)(NKJ) That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. Jesus Christ came into the physical universe which He had created, but because it was under the curse of sin, it did not know Him.

The phrase "foundation of the world" is often used in the New Testament to refer to the creation of the physical universe. Matthew 13 says:

(Matt 13:34_35)(NKJ)

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."

In Luke 11, Jesus said to those who questioned His authority:

(Luke 11:50-51)(NKJ)

50 "the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

Now in verse 5 of Ephesians 1 we read:
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

We were chosen in Christ before the creation of the world, and furthermore, we were predestined by God's decree to be adopted by God as sons. Why would God do this? Why would God choose us by His own election? Did He see something in us that made us worthy of this special grace? Not at all. It was according to the good pleasure of God's own will. It was God's desire to take pleasure in us as His own sons.

The angels of heaven are God's servants, but God wanted to delight in us as sons. He could take no pleasure in us while we were dead in trespasses and sin, so He made it possible for us to be seen in Jesus Christ as holy and without blame. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he or she is baptized into the righteousness of Christ, and by God's decree the believer becomes holy and without blame before Him in love. Completely engulfed in, completely surrounded by the love of God.

Mankind lost the privilege of access to God's love when Adam sinned, but now through the redemption that is ours in Jesus Christ, we are surrounded by His love. Paul said, (Rom 5:5-6) (NKJ) . . . the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

The fact that God has separated us out from among the masses of humanity to be accepted in Jesus Christ is something that brings praise to the glory of God's grace. This is one of those areas which is for all intents and purposes a litmus test. If you are listening today as I tell you that God has predestined some to be accepted in Jesus Christ, and if that causes resentment and a sense of injustice within your heart, if it creates a feeling that God is unfair and cruel, then that is a pretty good indication that you are not one of those who has been called.

If, on the other hand, as you hear about the truth of God's predestined calling, you feel a deep sense of gratitude and love toward God for His beautiful plan of salvation, then that is a good indication that you are one of those who has been chosen, and your heart will experience blessing upon blessing as you meditate upon God's perfect plan.

If you hear the word of God, and you realize that you are not one of God's children, and you walk away saying, "I am not saved and there is no way that I can be saved because God has already chosen the people who are going to be saved", then that is a good indication that you were not called to be saved. But if you hear the word of God and you say to God, "God, I want to be one of those who is called to be accepted in Jesus Christ. I want to be one of those who is called to be holy and without blame in Jesus Christ", then God will give you the faith to believe that Christ died for your sins. At that point, the Holy Spirit of God will bear witness with your spirit that you are a son of God, and you will grow in your understanding of the fact that you were called to be a son of God even before the foundation of the world.

When we take God at His word, He is able to do miracles which by definition, we can not understand or explain, but we know they are real. How does God take a poor lost sinner, dead in his trespasses and sins, and make him a new creation in Christ, and then give him the assurance in his heart that God called him even before the universe was created? Our lack of explanation leads us to say with the psalmist, (Ps 145:3)(NKJ) Great is the LORD, and His greatness is unsearchable.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Verse 7 of Ephesians 1 says that our identification with Christ and our baptism into Christ result in our redemption through His blood. According to Barnes' Notes, the root of the Greek word for redemption specifically refers to the price or the ransom which is paid for a prisoner of war, and thus we see that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed as a payment to set us free from the bondage of sin.

We were at war with sin and sin was winning. By nature, we were held captive by sin, unable to free ourselves from its chains, but the blood of Jesus Christ was sufficient to pay the required price for our freedom. As we experience the salvation of God, we are able to say with the songwriter of old, There Is Power in the Blood.

In some circles of the Christian religion today, the topic of Christ's shed blood is not very popular. Some think that the doctrine of the cross is too violent. They say we need to tame it down a bit. But denying the necessity of Christ's shed blood, denies the inherent violence of sin and the extreme measures that were required and provided to set us free from the power of sin.

When Adam sinned, God's protective hand was removed from the creation and indescribable violence shook the very foundations of the universe. This violence is still clearly seen in human nature and in nature in general. In order to overcome the violence of sin, God had to pour out His violent judgment upon an innocent man who was willing to endure that judgment for mankind.

I recently attended a Bible conference where one of the teachers pointed out that the gospel message is the story of a man who was wrongfully accused, wrongfully convicted and wrongfully executed, and this was God's perfect plan to provide justice. The unredeemed mind will be repulsed by this thought and may turn away from the gospel, but when the human mind turns to God and accepts God's word by faith, that which was repulsive becomes beautiful because it is seen as the only means by which sinful man could possibly be redeemed.

Romans 3 says, (Rom 3:23_26)(NKJ) . . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. A propitiation is that which appeases or satisfies. Therefore, it was the blood of Christ which satisfied God righteous requirement, God's just payment for sin. Romans 3 goes on to say that this payment for sin comes through faith to demonstrate God's righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God has chosen to accept personal faith as the means by which this perfect plan of redemption is made available to man. No one can live a righteous life, but anyone can believe. God declares that this is fair. This is just. And because God is just, He gave clues throughout the scriptures that faith is the active ingredient in salvation.

Hebrews 11 recounts for us the many times that the principle of faith is lifted up as the standard of God's acceptance in the Old Testament. Beginning with verse 4 we read:

(Heb 11:4)(NKJ)
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.

(Heb 11:7_11)(NKJ)

7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

It may not seem just to the human mind that an innocent man should die for the sins of those who have fallen far short of the glory of God, but we can praise the Lord today that God's word plainly declares that God's justice has been satisfied by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

In Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, and this according to the riches of His grace. The word for riches means abundance, and it is in our redemption through the blood of Christ that we are introduced to the superabounding grace of God. In Ephesians Chapter 2 we will find out that it is part of God's perfect plan for us to stand throughout the ages as a demonstration of the richness of God's grace.

Well I see our time is almost gone. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, pray a simple prayer of faith today. Tell God that you want to experience the riches of His grace through your personal faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you for listening to BST time this morning and be sure to tune in again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesians 1 (3-20-05)

Ephesians Chapter 1
(Bible Study Time 3-20-05)

The past few weeks we have been doing a few lessons as an introduction to the book of Ephesians. We looked at the fact that Ephesians is one of the Apostle Paul’s prison epistles. We saw that the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians stand apart from Paul’s earlier epistles as being those letters which were written to the Church of our present age, namely, the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Then we saw last week how Paul first visited Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, but he was only able to stay for a short time. After a quick visit to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria, he came right back to Ephesus and spent nearly 3 years in Ephesus preaching and teaching the gospel of the grace of God. Paul saw many people come into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he helped them grow in grace and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

Ultimately, Paul left for Macedonia and Greece, but on his way back to Jerusalem, he stopped at Miletus and called for the elders of the Ephesian church. When the elders arrived, Paul told them that they would see his face no more because he was going to Jerusalem where he would be greeted with chains and tribulation. Before he said his final farewell to these precious fellow laborers in Christ, the Bible says: (Acts 20:37-38)(NKJ) They all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

When Paul got to Jerusalem, he was arrested and ultimately taken to Rome where God revealed to him the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. Paul was given the task of revealing this mystery to the world, and he did so in his letters to Ephesus, Philippi & Colosse.

In Ephesians, Chapter 1 we read: (Eph 1:1_23) (NKJ)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was a very unique privilege for Paul. He was not one of the twelve who walked the earth with the Lord, but he had personally seen the Lord on the road to Damascus, and he had received his calling directly from the Lord. There on the road to Damascus, Paul asked the Lord, "What do you want me to do?", and the Lord said, "Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." Then the Lord told Ananias to go find Paul and lay hands him because God had called him as a chosen vessels to bear witness for God before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Well, Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle, but this book of Ephesians focuses, not on Paul, but on God and all that He has done for the faithful in Christ Jesus. This is especially true of this first chapter, where in the first verse, Paul says that he is an apostle by the will of God. In verse 2, he says, "Grace to you and peace from God." In verse 5, he says, "We were predestined to adoption as sons according to the good pleasure of God’s will." In verse 7, "We have redemption and forgiveness according to God’s grace." In verse 9, "We now understand the mystery of God’s will, according to God’s good pleasure which He purposed in Himself." In verse 11, "God works His master plan in accordance with the counsel of His own will." In verse 12, "We were called so that we would be to the praise of God’s glory." In verse 18, we need to know the "hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." In verse 19, we need to know "the exceeding greatness of God’s power", and in verse 20, "Christ is now seated at God’s right hand." Indeed, this first chapter is all about God, and what we as believers have as a result of God’s grace.

This epistle is written to the saints at Ephesus. A saint is one who has been sanctified or set apart by Jesus Christ. A church or an ekklesia is a gathering or an assembly of those who have been set apart and called out. A person becomes a saint by exercising his or her free will. Those who chose to believe in Jesus Christ are at that moment of faith set apart by God. They are justified and sanctified by faith in the cleansing power of the shed blood of Christ. If a person is not a saint in this life, they have no hope of becoming a saint in the next life. To be set apart by God and given eternal salvation, one must chose to believe in Christ at some point before they die for it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement.

This epistle is written not only to the saints at Ephesus, but to all of the faithful in Christ Jesus for it is written to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In the Church, the Body of Christ, there is no distinction made between Jew or Gentile, male or female, rich or poor, young or old. All people come to God on the basis of their faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but we who believe in Jesus have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

To all the faithful in Christ Jesus, Paul says:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is the free and undeserved love and favor of God. In this expression "Grace to you" we see the apostle’s true concern for the welfare of his dear friends at Ephesus as well as for all the faithful in Christ Jesus. He wants only the very best for them as they experience all of the very best of God’s blessings. He wishes them grace and peace from God for there can be no peace apart from grace, and there can be no grace apart from God.

We, as believers today, have been justified freely by His grace, and (Rom 5:1)(NKJ) having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Phil 4:7)(NKJ) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, is able to guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The peace of God is a powerful force. It is a powerful offensive weapon, and it is a powerful part of our defensive armor. When people see someone who has genuine peace, they become curious. They want to know what it is that gives them that kind of peace even in the midst of trials and difficulties. When the demons of Satan see that kind of peace in a believer, they scurry for shelter. They know they have already lost the battle for they can not compete with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The peace of God is powerful enough to give direction to those who follow Christ. Colossians 3 says: (Col 3:14-15)(NKJ) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

When we let the peace of God rule in our hearts, Satan can not discourage us. Satan finds no success in his efforts to tempt us. Satan can not lure us into an attitude of pride. The peace of God will defeat the devil because it will convict us when we are tempted. It will lift us up when we are discouraged. It will humble us when pride gets a foothold.

Paul told the Ephesians, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Then he said:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

When we study the book of Ephesians, we are walking on high and holy ground. This is the first of five times that Paul alludes to the heavenly places in this short letter. In this verse we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In verse 20, Christ is now seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. In verse 6 of chapter 2, we as believers are raised and seated in Christ in the heavenly places. In verse 10 of chapter 3, our witness is to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In verse 12 of chapter 6, we battle against the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

The book of Ephesians sets the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, apart from the Church of the Old Covenant as seen in the Old Testament scriptures, and it sets us apart from the Church of the New Covenant as seen in the Acts period, for it not only teaches that our realm of blessing is in the heavenly places, but it teaches that our blessings are spiritual in nature. We have no claim to physical health or physical prosperity, nor do we set such things as our first priority in life. Like Paul, we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14)(KJV).

There is nothing in this world that can compare to the spiritual blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ. Seven of these blessings are laid out for us here in this first chapter. In verse 4, we have been chosen in Christ. In verse 5, we have been predestined to adoption as sons. In verse 6, we have been accepted in Christ, the Beloved. In verse 7, we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. In verse 9, we have been instructed in the mystery of God’s will. In verse 13, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In verse 14, we have been given an inheritance in Jesus Christ. These are blessings which money can not buy. And these are blessings that do not fade with time. Paul said, "God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God, being all knowing and all powerful, is the only one who could possibly have the ability to give people absolute freedom of choice when it comes to salvation, and still at the same time know exactly what choice they will make even thousands of years before their birth. And this is exactly what God has done for us. Whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate, and whom He did foreknow, He did also chose in Christ before the foundation of the world.

The Greek word for chose means to select. It involves choosing on the basis of preference. It is the same word that is used by the Lord when Mary was sitting at His feet listening to His word, and Martha came in complaining that she needed help serving the guests. The Lord said that Mary had chosen or selected the better part. Well, God selected us not because of what he saw in us, but because He saw us in Christ.

We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, which means we were chosen in Christ before the laying down of the foundation of the earth. This points to the eternal nature of Jesus Christ in that Jesus Christ was with the Father in the beginning before the creation of all things. We were chosen in Christ so that we could be holy and without blame in God’s sight. There is no holiness within us, and the blame of our sin can not be laid off onto anyone else. We are seen as holy and without blame because we are seen in Christ.

Every person stands without excuse before God because Jesus Christ gives light to every person that comes into the world. It is God’s will for every person to be saved.

(John 3:17_21) (NKJ)
17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and those who come to the truth, walk in the light of Christ.

I Jn 1:6-10 (NKJ)
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

If you have not come to the light of Jesus Christ for cleansing through His blood, I pray that you will do that today. Only then will you be able to look back and see that you were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame in the sight of God.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesus (3-13-05)

Ephesus

(Bible Study Time 3-13-05)

Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem toward the end of his second missionary journey, when he visited Ephesus for the first time. He reasoned with the Jews there in Ephesus, and they wanted him to extend his stay, but he decided to continue on to Jerusalem. He did, however, leave Priscilla and Aquila there to continue the ministry.

Paul must have sensed the great opportunities that the Lord was opening up there in Ephesus because it was not long before Paul went back to this city on the far western coast of Asia Minor. When he got back to Ephesus after a quick trip to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria, he found some disciples, but Luke does not say that they were disciples of Christ. They were just disciples, and Paul wanted to know more about them.

I think that you and I can identify with Paul in this. God had called Paul to reach people with the gospel, and here he finds a group of people who have an obvious interest in spiritual things. He would like to know more about them, but he needs to be very sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He does not want to be rude, but he wants to walk through every door of opportunity that God opens.

God, who is always faithful, gave Paul just the right question to ask. In Acts 19, Paul asked:
(Acts 19:2-10)(NKJ)

2. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" But they said, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 Then Paul said, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
4 To which Paul replied, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

When they said that they did not know if there was a Holy Spirit, their intended meaning was probably that they were not sure if the Holy Spirit had been given. It's unlikely that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit because John the Baptist spoke plainly that the Messiah would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit. Paul then had the opportunity to tell these disciples that John's ministry involved a baptism of repentance, but its purpose was to introduce Israel to Jesus Christ, who was indeed the promised Messiah.

Matthew 3 tells us about the ministry of John the Baptist.

(Matt 3:1-8)(NKJ)

1. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.' "
4 And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him
6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,

John was able to tell the people that the Messiah was coming, but he, himself, did not know who the Messiah was until the Spirit of God descended upon Christ at His baptism. According to John, Chapter 1, John the Baptist said:

(John 1:31-34)(NKJ)
31 "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."
32 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
34 "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

With this in mind, it is easy to see why some of John's disciples may not have received the word that Jesus had been identified as the Messiah and that the Holy Spirit had been given.

The ministry of John the Baptist was glorious, but things had changed since the time of his ministry. It was God's will for these disciples in Ephesus to grow in their understanding of God's plan and purpose. God had so much more for them than what they were experiencing.

This is the nature of a real relationship with God. It depends on growth. Our children sing a prayer that expresses it so well. It says:

Jesus, there's something I want you do know.
I love you, I need you and I want to grow.
Grow in power. Grow in grace.
Grow in your word of truth and grow in the faith.

What a great concept for children to learn, and what a great goal for every believer, to grow in Jesus Christ. Peter admonished his readers to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul said that it is God's will for us to grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, even Christ. Oh, how much we miss when we are willing to stay where we are, content with the things that we have already learned and experienced. God always has more for us, if we are open and seeking all that He has to offer.

When the Apostle Paul told these disciples in Ephesus about Jesus Christ, they did not resist the change. They did not say, "I'm satisfied with the way I am right now." No. The Bible says that when they heard about Jesus Christ, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

They did not even know, up to this point, what they were missing, but because they were open to the word of God and willing to receive all that God had for them, they were able grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, and God poured out His blessings upon them.

Well, after this, the Bible says:

(Acts 19:8-10)

8 Paul went into the Ephesus synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Paul mentions here that he taught for two years in the school of Tyrannus after teaching 3 months in the synagogue. This is in harmony with Paul's statement in Acts 20:31 that he ministered in Ephesus for approximately 3 years. What a great ministry Paul had there. I get the impression that Paul just loved being there in Ephesus. Many people were coming to know the Lord. They were growing in the grace of Jesus Christ. Paul really loved these people, and they loved Paul.

This is not to say that there was no opposition to the gospel in Ephesus. Toward the end of Paul's time there, Demetrius the silversmith caused a small riot over Paul's teaching that there is only one God. And when Paul returned to Ephesus at the end of his third missionary journey, he called the elders to meet him in Miletus, and this is what he said:

(Acts 20:18-27)(NKJ)

18 "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,
19 "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;
20 "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
21 "testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's ministry went beyond the ministry of John the Baptist, in that Paul's ministry was not only a ministry of repentance, but a ministry of faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Some ministries today seem to emphasize repentance more than faith in Jesus Christ, but true repentance is a consequence of faith in the word of God. Paul continued in verse 22:

Acts 20:22-24
22 "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
23 "except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
24 "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul had just written the Romans believers shortly before this and had said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." He was not intimidated by human authority. He was undaunted by the threat of physical torture or even death. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He had witnessed it's power in his own life. He had witnessed it's transforming power in the lives of hundreds of new believers, and he was determined to accomplish all that God had called him to do in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now verse 25:

Acts 20:25-27
25 "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.
26 "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
27 "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Isn't that inspiring? To see a man who is facing prison and possibly death for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he is able to say, "I have not failed to give the gospel, the whole gospel, in every situation where there was an open door. I stand innocent before God of the blood of all men. No one will suffer in hell because I refused to tell them about the gospel of Jesus Christ." Then Paul said in verse 28:

Acts 20:28-32
28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
32 "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Paul knew that he could trust God to care for these believers. God had saved them, and God would protect them until that time when He gives them their inheritance in Jesus Christ. He warned them that false teachers would come in among them. This was a very serious warning. He said that they should not forget that for 3 years he had not ceased to warn them night and day with tears.

The devil is strong. The devil is clever. And he will do everything in his power to destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says, "Don't let your guard down now." I'm reminded of what Paul said to Timothy: (2 Tim 1:13)(NKJ) "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

Now in verse 33:

Acts 20-33-38
33 "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
34 "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
35 "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
37 Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Well, this gives us some background information about the book of Ephesians. Next week, the Lord willing, we will begin a study of the book itself.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Three Churches (3-6-05)

The Churches of the Bible

(Bible Study Time 3-6-05)

Paul's Acts period epistles are I and II Thessalonians, Galatians, I and II Corinthians, and Romans, and in these epistles we find Paul making reference to the kingdom which had been promised to Israel. In I Corinthians 6, Paul reminded his readers that they would someday rule the world. In verse 2 he said, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?"

In I Corinthians 7, Paul said,

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am . . . Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife . . . What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

Paul was obviously anticipating the earthly kingdom, and Paul knew that if the kingdom were to come within the next few months or years, all earthly relationships would change.

However, in the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, Paul did not refer to Israel's kingdom hope. Instead, he revealed the details concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. Paul said that the Church is seated with Christ in the heavenlies and blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. He said that we, as members of the Church, should set our affections on things above and not on the things of the earth.

Now as we think about the Church which is the Body of Christ, we need to understand what the Bible says in regard to the word church. The Greek word for church is "ekklesia" which literally means "called out." Therefore, a church is composed of those who have been called out or separated out from among a larger group.

There are times in the Bible when the greek word ekklesia is used in a totally secular sense to refer to an assembly of people. For instance, in Acts 19, when Paul was at Ephesus, a silversmith named Demetrius spoke out against Paul and said that Paul was teaching against the goddess Diana. At that point the people turned on Paul and his fellow laborers, and the Bible says that the assembly, or the ekklesia, was in confusion. Some were shouting one thing, some another, and most of the people did not even know why they were there. But the city clerk quieted the crowd and said:

Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great goddess Diana and of her image, which fell from Zeus? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly (or a legal ekklesia)."

Then the Bible says that the city clerk dismissed the assembly, which again is ekklesia.

Assembly is a more literal translation of the word ekklesia than is the word church, and there are Christian groups today who call their organization an assembly rather than a church. The word church actually comes from a word which was used by the pagans of Germany and England before they were converted to Christianity. They used the word kirk or chirche to refer to the mission buildings which were erected by the Catholic missionaries. Even today we often use the word church to refer to the church building. After these people were converted to Christianity, the word church was used for ekklesia when they were translating the scriptures, and that would be an incorrect translation because the word ekklesia was never used in the scriptures to refer to a building. Today, however, it is just fine to use the word church for ekklesia as long as we know what it really means. Ekklesia refers to those whom God has called out from among the rest of the world.

Because ekklesia is a greek word, it is found only in the New Testament, but it is used to refer to several different groups of people. In Acts Chapter 7, Stephen referred to the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai and called them the church in the wilderness because they had been called out from among the Egyptians. At Mt. Sinai, God revealed in the Mosaic Law the very purpose for which they had been called out. Therefore, in a very real sense, they were the Old Covenant Church. Now we are all aware of the fact that not all of these Jews were saved in the sense of having a personal relationship with God. In Romans 4, Paul proved that there can be no relationship with God apart from faith such as the faith of Abraham, and the vast majority of the church in the wilderness did not have that kind of faith, as was made obvious when they refused to enter into the promised land.

However, they did provide a picture of the New Covenant Church which God was planning for Israel's future. Jeremiah spoke of the day when God would make a New Covenant with the house of Israel. Jeremiah said,

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

God obviously has great things planned for Israel. Someday, God will establish a New Covenant with Israel, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the nation of Israel will be brought out of the bondage of sin just as the nation of Israel was brought out of the bondage of Egypt under the Old Covenant. And just as the nation of Israel had to pass through the Red Sea to get to the Old Covenant Kingdom, the nation of Israel will have to pass through the blood of Jesus Christ before they will be able to receive the New Covenant Kingdom.

Paul said that when Israel's New Covenant is established, there will be no unsaved Jews as there were under the Old Covenant. Romans 11:26 says,

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.

The Lord Jesus called the New Covenant Jews a church just as Stephen called the Old Covenant Jews a church. In Matthew 16, when Peter confessed that Jesus was indeed the Christ, Jesus said:

Blessed are you, Simon Bar_Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Clearly the Lord Jesus was referring to the Jewish church which will enter into the earthly kingdom under the New Covenant. It is a kingdom in which the apostles will have supreme authority over the affairs of the earth.

In Matthew 19, when Peter reminded the Lord of the sacrifices the disciples had made in order to follow Him, the Lord said,

Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

At the last supper, the Lord Jesus gave a cup of wine to the disciples and said,

Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.

The fruit of the vine is still waiting for the day when the Lord Jesus will drink of it with his disciples in the earthly kingdom. It is still waiting because the Jewish nation as a whole rejected the New Covenant Kingdom just as the unbelieving Jews of the Old Covenant had rejected the Old Covenant Kingdom. After Mt. Sinai, the nation of Israel traveled to Kadesh Barnea, but when they heard that there were giants in the promised land, they refused to go in.

In a similar fashion, after the Lord Jesus shed the blood of the New Covenant on Mt Calvary, the nation of Israel refused to enter into the New Covenant Kingdom. The giants which they could not overcome were the giants of self righteousness, pride, and a lust for power. When the Jews of the Old Covenant refused to enter the kingdom, God sent them into the wilderness for forty years, but then He brought back a new generation who did have the faith to enter the kingdom. When the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel during the Acts period, they refused to enter in, but someday God will bring back a new generation of Jews who will be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, and they will enter into the New Covenant Kingdom.

The Church of the New Covenant was started on the day of Pentecost in Acts, Chapter 2, and it was set aside at the end of the book of Acts. It was made manifest by many miracles, wonders and signs as the people spoke in tongues and the sick were healed. These signs were given to confirm that Christ was the promised Messiah and to demonstrate the spiritual healing which comes to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. The New Covenant Church had water baptism which symbolized the spiritual cleansing that comes to those who put their faith in Christ.

It was to the New Covenant Church that Paul said:

Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.

At the end of the Acts period, Israel's New Covenant program was set aside as Paul revealed the church of our present age, the Church which is the Body of Christ. The miracles, wonders and signs as well as the rituals of the New Covenant are not a part of the program for the Church, the Body of Christ.

However, there is no closer relationship to Christ than to be a member of the Church which is His Body, for we are members of His flesh and of His bones(Eph 5:30). Paul said in Colossians 2:

You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/

http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com