Ephesians 2 Part 2 (7-3-05)

Ephesians 2 Part 2
Bible Study Time 7-3-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 2, Paul says:

Ephesians 2:1-2
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 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,

Paul addressed the Ephesians knowing their background in idolatry, sexual immorality and sorcery. He knew that they knew first hand the powerful forces of Satan. I remember when the Harry Potter movies came out, I heard a Pastor on a TV talk show saying that these movies promoted witchcraft. He reminded the audience that witchcraft is not necessarily Satanism.

However, we see here in Ephesians 2 that Satan is the force behind all of the evils of this world. He is the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. Satan is the force behind all sin.

Then Paul says in verse 3:

Ephesians 2:3 (NKJ)
3 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.

We all acted in times past according to the lusts of the flesh. Paul obviously was including himself in this. As he looked back on his labors in the religion of the Pharisees, Paul could see that his actions were motivated by the devil.

He had actively opposed the Lord Jesus Christ, but on the road to Damascus, the Lord said to Paul, "Is it hard for you to kick against the goads?" God had given Paul a thorn which drove a little deeper with every step, and that thorn was Paul’s conscience.

Every time Paul lied about a believer to put them in prison, that thorn would go a little deeper. Every time Paul paid someone to lie about believers, that thorn would go a little deeper. But Paul kept on doing what he was doing because he was driven, he was energized by Satan.

So Paul said, "We all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath."

Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJ) says:
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like

Paul knew that he was just as guilty of these things as the people in Ephesus, but he gives us the good news in verse 4 which says:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

He says that God stepped in and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. But God,... saved us by His grace and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

As we have seen, there are many distinctions between the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians and the rest of Paul’s epistles, but when Paul says in verse six that God has raised us up to sit with Christ in heavenly places, that is one of those features that really sets the prison epistles apart. Only in the prison epistles did Paul say that believers are seated in the heavenly places, that our position is in the heavenly places, that our realm of blessing is in the heavenly places.

In the pre-prison epistles, the offer of the kingdom was still being offered and that resulted in an earthly focus. However, after Israel’s kingdom offer was set aside at the end of the book of Acts, Paul began to reveal the blessings which are ours in the heavenly realms.

It is sad but true that some believers today are still content to focus upon the earth. Especially when things are going pretty well down here, we may just want to hang on to these things. In fact, that is one of the stumbling blocks associated with prosperity. It will take our eyes off of the heavenly places where we find the true blessings of God. Paul said to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:8-9 (KJV)
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

The things of this world are but temporary, and they fade like the grass that withers under the sun. The Lord Jesus said,

Matthew 16:26-27 (NKJ)
26 " . . . what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

The lasting rewards are those which are given by the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are faithful to Him. If we have our eyes focused on Him and on our position in the heavenlies, we will be able to keep right on enjoying our spiritual blessings even when we go through hard times here on the earth.

We are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and Jesus Christ, as the Head of the Body, is our source of joy and peace. We live with the full assurance of the truth of Ephesians 2: 8 and 9.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

These two verses essentially recapture the message of the book of Romans for us. We were living under the death penalty, but God saved us by His grace. Salvation is the gift of God to those who believe. Of coarse, the book of Romans goes into greater detail and reveals that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It says that all those who try to live by the law, fall short of God’s standard of righteousness.

Romans proves that nobody was ever been saved by the Law for even Abraham was saved by faith before he was circumcised and before the law was given. The righteousness of God came upon Abraham because Abraham believed the promise of God. Man has nothing in which he can boast when it comes to salvation.

But according to verse 10, we are not only saved from the realm of darkness, but we are brought into the light of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJ)
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

In Vacation Bible School this week we emphasized that we are empowered by the Son of God to live for Jesus Christ. It is God’s power working in us that allows us to walk as children of light.

Obviously, we can not boast in the workmanship of God. If God through His own creative genius turns our lives into a work of art which is admired by all, how are we to boast in that? This is God’s doing, and He deserves all the glory.

When we are burdened down with sin, God’s power can set us free. I was in my front yard the other day when I got into a conversation with a gentleman who was working in my neighborhood. In the coarse of our conversation, he told me that God had set him free from alcohol. He said that alcohol had just about ruined his life when God touched his heart and set him free. He said that from that moment, he never had another craving for alcohol.

We also experience freedom from bitterness as we yield to God’s workmanship. I know a lady who wants a child so much, but it just hasn’t happened. She and her have prayed for a child for years, but God has said no. They have had every medical test imaginable, and every test has shown nothing wrong. The doctors said, "If there’s nothing wrong, we have nothing to fix."

The lady grew angry with God. She thought to herself, "I’m a good person. I deserve a child. I deserve a child more than that person or that person. It’s just not fair."

In the process of working through all of her thoughts and feelings, she got even more angry with God, but she never gave up on God. People would tell her that she just needed to trust the Lord because the Lord knows what’s best. She would respond by saying, "Everyone tells me that, but I’m just not there yet."

Just the other day, it blessed my heart to hear her say that she had learned to trust the Lord. She said that she had to come to grips with the fact that she really did not deserve a child and that everything we have is a gift from God which is given by His grace. She said that she had learned that she needs to give every aspect of her life to God. And trust Him.

Now I’m here to tell you that that is the workmanship of God.

Ephesians 2:11
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

When we get saved, God starts that work of art. He starts making us into something beautiful. He starts shaping us and molding us into the image of His dear Son.

In some ways this lady was fortunate because she did not have anyone to blame but God. Clearly, God was making this call. As a result she was forced to deal directly with God.

I think it is true that when we face a disappointment, the first thing we do is look around for someone to blame. And if we can find someone to blame, we may just live the rest of our lives with bitterness toward that person or those people. But what we really need to do is take the matter to God.

Is God really in charge of all things? Is God really in control of all things? If He is not in control then He’s just waiting like we are to see what’s going to happen next. But the Holy Spirit of God has given countless millions assurance that God is in control and that He knows what He’s doing. We can trust Him. He has a plan for us, and His plan is good.

When God works in our hearts to deliver us from sin, He is putting the mark of His workmanship on our lives. When God works in our hearts to deliver us from bitterness, He is putting His initials on that work of art He is creating in us.

A third aspect of God’s workmanship is seen when He gives us the necessary abilities and talents to do what He has called us to do. Of coarse, when we think of this we have to think of Moses. God told Moses to go down into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel. Moses said, "I can’t do that. I’m not important enough to stand before Pharoah." But God said, "I’ll be with you."

Moses said, "I’m not impressive enough to convince the children of Israel to follow me." God said, "I’ll do miracles to prove that I have sent you."

Moses said, "I still don’t think I can do this because I’m not very eloquent, and I have a speech problem."

Then according to Exodus 4:11 God said:

Exodus 4:11-12 (NKJ)
11 . . . "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
12 "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

When Moses insisted on an assistant who could speak for him, God in His anger agreed to give Moses his brother, Aaron. But when Moses got to Egypt, wouldn’t you know it, Moses did all the talking.

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

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

Ephesians 2 Part 1 (6-26-05)

Ephesians 2 Part 1
Bible Study Time 6-29-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul details the spiritual blessings that God has bestowed upon us. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and we were predestined to be adopted as the Sons of God. Because we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for sins, we stand before God as holy and without blame. Therefore, we are accepted in Jesus Christ, the beloved One.

What a contrast as we move into Chapter 2 and see Paul’s description of what we were before we met the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 1 says:

Eph 2:1 (NKJ)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

We used to be dead in our trespasses and sins, but now we have been made alive in Jesus Christ. In Chapter 1, Paul prayed that the saints of Ephesus would be able to understand the power that God exercised when He raised Christ up from the dead. Now he says that God has exercised that same power to bring us from death into life.

Paul had already laid the groundwork for this discussion in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 5, Paul explained that sin came into the world through one man. Of coarse, that one man was Adam, who is the father of us all in a natural sense. As a result of Adam’s sin, all of us inherited the sin nature. Each person, from Adam to the present time, has been born with a propensity to sin because of that inherited sin nature.

As cute and as innocent as little babies are, you can’t help but adore them and be thankful to God for them. But there has never been a baby born yet who entered into this world saying, "Pardon me. I didn’t mean to put you to so much trouble."

No, babies let you know pretty quickly that they expect you to drop everything to take care of them. When they’re hungry, they don’t say, "Go ahead and take care of whatever your doing, but if you get a chance, I sure would appreciate a bottle of milk." Babies are born with a natural instinct that says, "I am the center of the universe and all activities should revolve around me."

Well, that’s OK for babies, but it speaks volumes about our nature. When those tendencies, when those attitudes, continue in our hearts as we get older, we see the devastating effects in our homes, in our schools, and in our communities. Adults who don’t deal effectively with the sin nature will find themselves locked in the grips of the works of the flesh. In Galatians 5, Paul declares:

Gal 5:19-21 (NKJ)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;

In these works of the flesh the basic selfishness with which we are born is clearly seen under intense magnification. The Lord Jesus said that we could fulfill all of the law of God if we could just learn to love one another. Paul reiterated this same thought when he said:

Gal 5:14 (NKJ)
14 . . . all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

However, the sad news is that we do not possess within ourselves the capacity to love our neighbors. Our sin nature takes us in the opposite direction. It takes us where we do not even want to go. Paul said in Romans 7, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

One of the saddest and most interesting aspects of the sin nature is that it will lead us in directions that defy sound logic. In years past, we have seen national politicians essentially assured of victory who were willing to risk it all to break into the opposing headquarters to increase their odds of victory. This defies sound logic. We have seen individuals worth millions of dollars who risk it all to trade a stock based on insider information. The old nature has the capacity to tear down the fabric of good sound logic.

When the Lord Jesus came to the earth from the glory of heaven, he was born not as a child of Adam but as the Son of God. He was not afflicted with the sin nature. When He was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and tempted by the devil, He did not succumb to the illogical demands of the devil.

The devil demanded that the Lord turn a stone into bread, but Jesus knew instinctively that His relationship with God was more important than food for his human body. He had been with the Father. He knew the glory of heaven. Even if He starved to death, He would never sacrifice the glory of heaven for a taste of bread.

The devil offered the Lord Jesus the kingdoms of this world if Jesus would bow down and worship him, but the Lord Jesus knew the power of God, and that any authority which the devil had over the kingdoms of this world would be short lived. He also knew that the glory of the Father would last forever. Without the help of the sin nature, the devil could not destroy the sound logic of the Spirit of God.

When the devil demanded that the Lord Jesus should cast Himself off of the highest point of temple to see if the angels would come to His rescue, the Lord Jesus knew better than to test the Father. God is not One who allows Himself to be tested by man. God is the God of all creation, and He accepts those who come to Him by faith. The Lord Jesus Christ is our supreme example of One whose faith never failed or even faltered. He had no sin nature to confuse His mind or alter the devotion of His heart.

We as humans, on the other hand, must find a way to escape the clutches of the sin nature if we are to find peace with God and victory over sin. As long as we live under the domination of the sin nature, Paul says we are walking dead men with no spiritual life.

This was our condition before we met the Lord Jesus Christ. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We walked according to the course of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air. We were driven to fulfill the desires of the flesh, and we were motivated by our hatred for others, just like everyone else.

Paul alludes to the power and authority of the devil when he speaks of the prince of the power of the air. Indeed, the one who dared to tempt the Lord Jesus is still very active today. The devil has less authority now than He did in Jesus’ day in that according to Colossians 2, when Christ died upon the cross, He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them as He triumphed over them.

However, the devil still works in the children of disobedience, and Paul says that we were once under His sway as we went about fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. But in Ephesians 2 and verse 4 we read:

Eph 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Only in Jesus Christ do we find the wherewithal to really escape the grip of the sin nature. Good parents train their children to keep the selfishness of the sin nature under control, and fortunately most people are able to avoid the most extreme works of the flesh. But that sort of "self control" is often motivated by strong social restraints which promise dire consequences to those who yield to the outward manifestations of the sin nature.

Once I was talking to a man about spiritual things, and he made the statement to me that the only purpose for churches is to help keep people under control. This seems to be a view that is shared by many people. This gentleman seemed to think that he really did not need church as long as he was able to exercise good self control.

When Martin Luther began to preach the beautiful truths of the book of Romans, that people are saved by grace through faith and not by good works, the organized church persecuted Luther saying that his theology would be the ruin of decent society.

Well, it certainly is true the people who are trying to manage and reform the sin nature will need every bit of help they can get. They will need tremendous social pressure to put a guard around the sin nature. But even those who are able to control the outward deeds of the flesh still have the selfish motivations of the sin nature. Every good deed will still be characterized by their own selfish desires.

The other day, I was talking to a minister friend of mine who told me about a time when he was called to do a funeral service. Shortly after that, he got a call from the pastor of the deceased, and that pastor was very upset because he had not been called first when the arrangements for the funeral were being made.

Situations like that can be very disappointing because they illustrate how often people dedicate their lives to do good things, but they have never really been set free from the destructive forces of the sin nature.

God’s solution for the sin nature was not to reform it or control it. His solution was to nail it to the cross of Calvary. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God made us alive. He brought us out of the realm of death and into the realm of life in Jesus Christ.

Just like God brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and into the promised land, He has brought us out of the realm of darkness and into the realm of His glorious light. Colossians 1 says:

Col 1:13-14 (NKJ)
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2 says:

Col 2:13-14 (NKJ)
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Colossians 2 also makes it very clear that our deliverance was accomplished by the work which God accomplished for us in the spiritual realm. Verse 11 says that in Christ, we were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by the circumcision of Christ.

Of coarse, the circumcision of Christ refers to His physical death. The prophet Daniel used a similar expression when he predicted that the Messiah would be cut off after 69 weeks. Christ came to earth in a body of flesh and that body of flesh was cut off from the land of the living. But notice that Christ’s circumcision was accomplished by the hand of God. Jesus said in John 10:

John 10:15, 18 (NKJ)
15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

We were separated from the sin nature by the circumcision of Christ, and no human hand was allowed to touch this sacred ceremony. This was a circumcision made without hands.

Verse 12 goes on to say that we were buried with Christ in baptism, and we were raised with Christ through faith in the working of God who raised Christ from the dead. Again, this is a sacred spiritual baptism which is accomplished by the working of God.

Human religion should be careful about trying to put a human hand upon the ceremony which God has determined that He will perform. In Exodus 20:25, God told the children of Israel:

Exod 20:25 (NKJ)
25 '. . . if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.

In this same way, our baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is something that God has determined that He will do. Let us not profane this sacred ceremony with human hands.

It was the indescribable power of God which raised Christ from the dead, and it is that same power which baptizes us into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to transfer us from the realm of death into the realm of eternal life.

Well, I trust God will bless you today as you worship Him. I have enjoyed studying with you this morning, and I’ll look forward to being with you 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/

Father's Day (6-19-05)

Father’s Day 2005
Bible Study Time 6-19-05

Psalm 127 says:

Psalm 127:1-5 (NKJ)
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

As I read this verse, my first thought was that a house can not be build without God’s help. However, that’s not what the verse says. It says that if we try to build a house without God, that house will count for nothing. Our labor will be in vain.

Of coarse, that is true of anything that we do. People accomplish all kinds of things in this life, and many great things are accomplished by those who do not know the Lord at all. But what will their labor be worth in the long run? What will it be worth in eternity? The Bible is clear that only those things which are done with Christ and through the power of Christ will have lasting value.

At Mt. Sinai, the Lord was angry with the children of Israel because they had built and worshiped the golden calf. The Lord said to Moses:

Exodus 33:1-3 (NKJ)
1 "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . .
2 "And I will send My Angel before you, . . .
3 ". . . for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff_necked people."

Then the Bible says:

Exodus 33:7 (NKJ)
7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

Apparently before this time, Moses’ tent was in the middle of the encampment, and when the people brought their concerns to Moses, he would go into the tent and the pillar of cloud would descend upon the tent so that everyone would know that Moses was meeting with God. But now, Moses had moved his tent outside the camp, and the people knew that God was no longer willing to meet with Moses within the confines of the camp. The camp had been defiled by sin so Moses moved his tent outside the camp; far from the camp, the Bible says.

Apparently, it was some time after that Moses said to the Lord:

Exodus 33:12-17
12 . . . You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.'
13 "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people."
14 And the Lord said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
15 Then Moses said, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
16 "For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."
17 So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name."

How wise Moses was to realize that his only hope for accomplishing anything worthwhile with his life was dependent upon the Lord being with him. He said, "If you don’t go with us, I don’t want to go."

Well, that is the same concept that is expressed in Psalm 127:

Psalm 127:1 (NKJ)
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;

Most seem to agree that this Psalm was written by King Solomon, and if that’s true then he would have been very much aware of the fact that God is more than capable of building a glorious house, for he, himself, was the heir of such a house.

When his father, King David, expressed his desire to build a house for the Lord, the Lord replied that David would not be allowed to build the temple. But then God said, "David, I’m going to build you a house." And God was not talking about a royal mansion, He was talking about a glorious family.

Let’s read the account in 2 Samuel, Chapter 7, beginning in verse 1:

2 Samuel 7:1-6
1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies all around,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains."
3 Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."
4 But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?
6 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.

Then the Lord reminded David of the fact that God had taken David as a sheepherder and had made him the King of Israel. God had cut off David’s enemies and had made David’s name great. Then in verse 11, Nathan says:

2 Samuel 7:11-14
11 " . . . the LORD tells you that He will make you a house.
12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son . . . "

Well, this is the kind of house that the Lord is able to build. I guess that tells us something about how God feels about families, doesn’t it? God promised David a family that would last forever. And not only that, but God promised David that one of his sons would be the Son of God, and that that particular Son would establish the throne of David in an everlasting kingdom.

When the Lord Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, He was born in the city of David. He was born of the house and linage of David. Everywhere He went He was called the Son of David. The children of Israel had been waiting for the fulfillment of David’s promise. They were looking for the Son of David who would come to establish the throne of David in an everlasting kingdom.

Solomon was a son of David, but he was not the Son of David that the nation of Israel was looking for. Solomon was a picture of the Son of David in that God allowed Solomon to build a glorious temple, and God established Solomon’s throne in a glorious kingdom, but the glories of Solomon’s kingdom, which was indescribably glorious, will not even hold a candle to the glories of the future kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Men, you may have guessed already where I’m going with this, since this is Father’s Day. God has given men a tremendous responsibility when it comes to building a house. When it comes to establishing a family. A wife is a gift from God. Children are a gift from God. As we read in Psalm 127, children are an heritage from the Lord. They’re like arrows in the hand of a warrior, and happy is the man who has quiver full of them.

It’s important to realize, however, that God wants to reveal His glory through our families. It’s not his goal for us to have mediocre families. Wayne Schoonover, my brother-in-law, often reminds people of the old proverb which says, "Beware, my son, of good enough."

Truly glorious families don’t just happen. Glorious families are the result of God’s blessing. Men, we need to be like Moses when Moses said, "Lord, if you don’t go with us, I don’t want to go." We need to pray that God will give us a good plan of action for creating a family which reveals the glory of God.

For Father’s Day I was given a movie which I have to admit I have already watched. In this movie there was a man who gave advise to men who really wanted to get off to a great start with that special girl. The movie impressed me with the fact that we, as men, often don’t have a clue when it comes to the various needs of the people that we live with every day. We need God’s help. If we ask, we will receive because God wants our homes to reveal His glory.

Sometimes families have needs which are just overwhelming. Sometimes problems seem to be beyond any solution. But if God can take a shepherd boy out of the field and establish his family as the greatest family of all time, He can do miracles for us too.

We need sensitivity to the needs of each member of our family. Some people think, "All my family needs is more money. If we just had more money everything would be just fine." That is obviously false because some of the richest families are also some of the most miserable.

God gave some great advise for fathers in Ephesians, Chapter 6, where Paul said:

Ephesians 6:4 (NKJ)
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

When Paul says "bring them up", that tells us that this is something to which we need to pay special attention. We need to be constantly observing and monitoring to see to it that the needs of our wife and children are being met, both physically and spiritually. As we do this we are to pay particular attention to their training and admonition.

The greatest education, the greatest training, our children will ever get is the training they get at home. From the time they’re born, they’re watching and learning, and most of what they learn in this life will occur before they ever start to school. But the word for training in Ephesians, Chapter 6, really refers to specific instruction. It’s the kind of training that supplies the nourishment needed for growth and maturity. Fathers need to be teaching their children about everything, but especially about the word of God. In Deuteronomy 6, God said to Israel:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJ)
4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Our children need to know that the word of God is our book of instruction for how to live this life. I was at Six Flags Over Texas this week, and I saw some young people from a certain church. They all had on T-shirts which said something like, "Life is much easier if we learn to read the manual." And then it had a picture of an open Bible.

The Bible is our instruction manual for this life. We need to read it, and we need to teach it. Especially as fathers, we need to teach it to our children because it can make the difference between eternal life and eternal death for our children.

God promised David that one of his children would be the Son of God. What a tremendous promise! One of his descendants was going to be the Son of God. Well, we can lay hold of that promise too because the Bible says that when our children accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they become the children of God. When they believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins, and that He was raised from the dead so that they could have eternal life, they become the Sons of God.

This is specifically stated in Ephesians, Chapter 1, where we read that we who trust in Christ have been predestined to adoption as Sons by Jesus Christ. Men, we as fathers have a tremendous opportunity to teach the word of God to our children so that they can become the children of God.

Our communities here in southwest Oklahoma are blessed to have many godly fathers who take the responsibilities of fatherhood very seriously. Even this morning, I can think of so many men who have and are bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I just want to say thank you to those of you who are listening this morning, and I hope you have a very happy Father’s Day.

It’s been a pleasure being with you this morning for Bible Study Time. I’ll look forward to being with you 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 Part 12 (6-12-05)

Ephesians 1 Part 12
Bible Study Time 6-12-05

We have been studying Ephesians, Chapter 1, for several weeks where Paul gives us the details of the spiritual blessings which are ours in the Christ as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. Paul says that one of the blessings we have is seen in the fact that God made known to us the mystery of His will in all wisdom and prudence. Paul is content to leave the subject of the mystery at that in chapter 1, but when he gets over into Chapter 3, he lays out the details of the revelation of the mystery.

When students of the Bible look at the revelation of the mystery which is given in Ephesians, the question invariably comes up as to whether or not this is the same mystery which Paul speaks of in the book of Romans and the book of I Corinthians. Accordingly, I decided to do a short review of Paul’s history and Paul’s mysteries.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he proclaimed with thanksgiving that he belonged to Jesus Christ and that God had called him to be an apostle. The word apostle literally means "one who is sent out as an official ambassador." Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, and shortly thereafter God said, "Paul is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel." It is noteworthy that the Gentiles were mentioned first in this list.

When Paul went to help Barnabas in Antioch of Syria, Paul witnessed the salvation of Gentile believers, and we read in Acts, Chapter 15, that he went before the elders in Jerusalem to declare that God was saving Gentiles who had never submitted to circumcision. As a result, the elders in Jerusalem determined that Paul should continue his ministry among the uncircumcised Gentiles, while the elders in Jerusalem continued their ministry among the circumcised Jews.

In the book of Romans, Paul used his office as the apostle to the Gentiles to speak with authority. He said in Romans 11:13:

Romans 11:13 (KJV)
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:

In Romans 15, Paul quoted 4 different Old Testament passages to justify his ministry to the Gentiles. This gave ample evidence that God had always planned to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and during the Acts period, we see the Apostle Paul preaching the gospel as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

In Romans 1, Paul said that he was separated to the gospel of God. But to which gospel was he separated? Paul answered that question in the last chapter of Romans, where Paul said in verse 25:

Romans 16:25 (NKJ)
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ

When Paul said "my gospel", he was talking about the gospel which he was authorized to preach as the apostle to the Gentiles, that salvation was being offered to the Gentiles through simple faith apart from the works of the Law.

In Romans 16, Paul said that his gospel had been kept secret since the world began, but obviously, it was a secret only in the sense that it was hidden in the Old Testament scriptures. This is made clear by the fact that Paul had just quoted verse after verse from the Old Testament to justify his ministry and by the fact that Paul goes on to say that his gospel was now being made known to all nations by the prophetic scriptures.

Paul’s gospel at this point had to do first of all with the fact that the Messiah was going to come to the earth and be killed by His own people, but that through His blood, He would provide redemption for those who believe. Paul had the privilege of revealing this mystery which up to this point had been hidden in the scriptures. In I Corinthians 15, Paul said:

I Corinthains 15:3 (NKJ)
3 . . . I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

In all probability Paul used verses such as those in Isaiah 53 to prove the validity of his gospel. Isaiah spoke of Jesus and said:

Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJ)
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Certainly, the gospel that Christ died for our sins was according to the scriptures, but it was well hidden in the scriptures because the people in general did not understand these verses. But Paul was able to tell us why these facts were not fully explained in the Old Testament.

In I Corinthians, Chapter 2, he said:

I Corinthians 2:7-8 (NKJ)
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The mystery of the Acts period related to the death of Christ and the redemption that is secured through His shed blood.

Another aspect of Paul’s gospel in the Acts period and therefore in the book of Romans was the gospel of the New Covenant Kingdom. As Paul went preaching the good news that Christ died for our sins, he was also preaching the good news of the New Covenant Kingdom which had been promised to Israel. According to that promise the Messiah would come and rule the earth through the nation of Israel.

Paul stated in II Corinthians 3 that he was a minister of that New Covenant, but the New Covenant was also hidden in the Old Testament scriptures. In fact, Jeremiah is the only Old Testament prophet who specifically referred to the New Covenant.

Because Paul was a minister of the New Covenant, he was ministering with the expectation that New Covenant Kingdom was eminent. In keeping with this hope, Paul said in Romans 1 that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

All of the physical blessings of the New Covenant Kingdom would flow through the Jews to the Gentiles, but the Jews had to accept Christ as their Savior and as their Messiah before the kingdom could come. Throughout the Acts period, Paul went to the Jew first and also to the Greek, preaching the gospel of salvation through faith, and he did so in accordance with the promises of the New Covenant.

In the last chapter of the book of Acts, Paul was in a Roman prison when he called for the Jewish leaders. He solemnly testified of the kingdom of God from early in the morning until late at night, pointing out the Old Testament passages which spoke specifically about Jesus.

The Bible says that some of these Jews were persuaded by Paul’s arguments, but others refused to believe. At other points in the book of Acts, Paul had been faced with the same indecisiveness on the part of the Jews. On those occasions, he would simply agree to come back and talk to them another day. But not this time. This time he quoted Isaiah immediately, and said, "You have ears, but you can not hear. You have eyes, but you can not see. Therefore, we turn to the Gentiles."

At this point, Paul knew there would be no tomorrow for the Jews of his generation. God was drawing the line for Israel, saying in effect, "This is it!" Those Jews listening to Paul in Rome needed to get on their knees, repent and accept Christ, but they did not. As a result, God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom was temporarily set aside. Their chance to accept the promised kingdom had come and gone.

The Old Testament scriptures predicted that the Messiah would be killed, and they predicted that the Messiah would be raised from the dead, but they never even hinted at the fact that Israel would reject the resurrected Christ. With Israel rejecting the resurrected Christ, mankind was faced with a situation which was never anticipated by the prophets. Therefore, nobody knew what God was going to do next.

Paul wrote several letters from his Roman prison after the events of Acts 28. These letters include Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and the pastoral epistles, and these letters hold the key to what God did next.

In these letters, and only in these letters, Paul referred to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In Colossians 1, Paul said that he was a minister of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and He went on to say that his ministry to the Church was according to a mystery which had been hidden from ages and from generations.

Was this the same mystery which Paul mentioned in Romans 16? Let’s look at Ephesians 3 for more detail. Verse 1 says:

Ephesians 3:1-3,5
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles__
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery

Notice that Paul is claiming these revelations as those which were given to him.

3 how that by revelation God made known to me the mystery

5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

According to Romans 16, the mystery in the book of Romans was being made manifest by the prophetic scriptures. Paul could not claim those revelations as his own. Those revelations were given to the prophets. However, the mystery in the prison epistles is a mystery which Paul said was being revealed by the Holy Spirit, to the apostles and prophets, through him. That is quite a difference. Let’s continue in Ephesians 3:

Ephesians 3:3, 6-9
3 how that by revelation God made known to me the mystery

6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all men 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;

Here in Ephesians, Paul acknowledges that his ministry is still primarily among the Gentiles, but he no longer magnifies his office as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul said that in the Church which is the Body of Christ, the Gentiles are fellowheirs and of the same body as the Jewish believers.

In the Acts period, the Jews continued to observe the Law of Moses while the Gentiles did not. That distinction is no longer apparent in the program which is revealed here in Ephesians. Rather than magnifying his office as the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul says that he has been called to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. According to this mystery, God has one message for all people.

Paul said that according to the mystery of Ephesians, Gentiles are partakers of God’s promise in Christ, but clearly that promise is not the promise of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom. Paul never even mentions Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom in his prison epistles. However, the promise of redemption through the blood of Christ is still at the forefront of Paul’s message. We, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ are very much partakers in God’s promise concerning the suffering savior Who was wounded for our transgressions, and by Whose stripes we are healed, but we do not hope for Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom.

The mystery of Ephesians is not that Christ died for our sins but that God had a plan for the aftermath of Israel’s rejection of the resurrected Christ. It appears that all three members of the Godhead took council together before the foundation of the world, as they planned for Israel’s rejection of the New Covenant and the calling out of the Church which is the Body of Christ. The Church which is the Body of Christ was the best kept secret of all time, and God called the Apostle Paul to reveal this mystery to the world in the prison epistles.

Well, I want to thank you for joining me for a time of Bible Study this morning. I have enjoyed being with you and will be looking forward to studying with you 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 Part 11 (6-5-05)

Ephesians 1 Part 11
Bible Study Time 6-5-05

We have been studying Ephesians 1 for several weeks now, and we have seen a beautiful portrait of the spiritual blessings which have been bestowed upon those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and we were predestined to be adopted as the Sons of God. Because we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for sins, we stand before God as holy and without blame, and we are completely and totally accepted in Jesus Christ.

In wisdom and prudence God made known to us the mystery of His will, and Paul gives three reasons why God decided to reveal this mystery which had been kept secret since the foundation of the world.

First, God revealed the mystery of His will so that we might gain an understanding of the hope of our calling. We have seen that the hope of our calling as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, is that someday we will be caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven.

Because the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ is separate and apart from God's program for the nation of Israel, we can be sure that the hope of our calling is different from the hope of Israel's calling.

The Church which is the Body of Christ, which includes Jews and Gentiles alike, will be caught up to be with the Lord Jesus in the glory of heaven before the tribulation period begins. Unsaved Israel, on the other hand, will remain on the earth to go through the tribulation period, during which time they will be tested and purified. By the end of the tribulation period, Israel will look upon Him whom they pierced, and they will morn. Israel will accept Jesus Christ as her Messiah and will enter into the New Covenant Kingdom. With this in mind, it is understandable that God wants us to understand the hope of our calling.

Secondly, God revealed the mystery of His will because He wants us to be fully aware of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in us. God has a great plan to glorify His name through the Church which is the Body of Christ. Ephesians 2 says:

Eph 2:6-7 (NKJ)
6 (God) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

God plans to declare and magnify the richness of His superabounding grace throughout all of eternity by means of the indescribable kindness which He bestows upon us. That grace, which was always greater than the greatest sin, will be revealed as the grace which flows like a river with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, God's inheritance in us is seen in the fact that the Church reveals the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers which occupy the heavens. Ephesians 3 says that the Church reveals the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

What an inheritance God has in us! The more God blesses us, the more His grace will be magnified and the more His manifold wisdom will be exalted and glorified. Throughout eternity we will sing:

Ps 34:1-3
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.

Every kindness of grace which God bestows upon us throughout eternity will bring glory to God. It will all be done to the praise of His glory.

But there is one more reason for God's revelation of the mystery of His will. Verse 19 says that He revealed the mystery of His will so that we might know the exceeding greatness of His power.

We know that God is good all the time. The Psalmist said:

Ps 31:19 (NKJ)
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

But God is not only good. He is also powerful. We know that all of the goodness which God has prepared for us He is able to perform. The goodness of the Lord goes hand in hand with His strength and power. Psalm 65 says:

Ps 65:6 (NKJ)
6 Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power;

Then the Psalmist goes on to say:

Ps 65:11 (NKJ)
11 You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 106 says:
Ps 106:7-9
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

In the New Testament, God reveals His goodness and His power through the salvation of the lost.

I Corinthians 1 says:
1 Cor 1: 18 (NKJ)
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.

Again in Romans, Paul says:
Rom 1:16
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

God is good, and His goodness is revealed through His power.

In Ephesians 1, Paul mentions two ways that the power of God is revealed. First, Paul prays that we might be able to understand the exceeding greatness of God's power which He worked in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead.

Those of us who were brought up hearing about the resurrection of Christ and hearing about our own hope of resurrection may have a tendency to minimize in our own minds the extraordinary power that is required to bring about a resurrection from the dead.

It is certainly a task which no human being could accomplish. The Great Houdini thought that he might be able to escape the clutches of death. He even gave his wife a codeword so that if a spirit appeared to her after his death and claimed to be Houdini, she would know if it was he. Needless to say, no spirit ever came to her with the proper codeword.

Satan is the great imposter, and he often tries to imitate the workings of God, but raising someone from the dead is not something he can even come close to. Satan is very capable of setting up situations which result in death and destruction, but giving life is not something he has any power to do.

God and God alone had the power to give life to Adam and Eve in the garden, and He alone is the One who has the power to give eternal life to those who believe in His Son. Though we may die as Sons of Adam, we know that God has the power to raise us up again as Sons of the Second Adam, even Jesus Christ.

The power of the resurrection is a common theme for the Apostle Paul. Here in Ephesians 1, Paul prays that we might understand the power that is took to raise Christ from the dead. In Romans 1, Paul said:

Rom 1:3-4
3 Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 and He was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

In Philippians, he said:
Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.

Paul clearly says that to him it would be a far greater blessing to have a more perfect understanding of the real power that it took to raise Christ from the dead than it would be to have all of the things that this world has to offer.

I have to admit, as I speak to you this morning , that as I was studying these passages, I began to realize that I probably don’t have a clue as to what this great power really is. I have so much to learn, but I know that God wants me to know about this resurrection power, and He wants me to realize that power in my life now and throughout all of eternity.

Now, in closing, we see that God's great power is seen not only in the resurrection of Christ from the grave, but it is seen in His ascension into the heavenly places where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. The fact that Christ is seated in the heavenly places far above all principality and power, certainly demonstrates the superior power of the Father and of the Son.

As Paul describes Christ’s position, he goes on to say that Christ has been given the position of Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. Now it is interesting to me that even though Christ has supreme authority over all things, He was not given the position of king over the Body of Christ. No. I’m thankful that today Christ does not reign as king over His Church, but He serves as Head of the Church.

I know that many people these days are interested in dominion theology in which it is taught that God has given believers all authority and all power over the political processes of the earth. However, this attitude is not in keeping with the leadership Christ has shown as the Head of the Church. We have the privilege today of relating to Christ on a very personal basis, as a fellow laborer. This is a much closer relationship than that of a subject to his king. We are called to fellowship with Christ as we serve Him, as we serve one another, and as we serve our fellow human beings.

Actually, a careful look at the future earthly kingdom reveals that an attitude of domination will be inappropriate for the kingdom as well. Jesus told his disciples:

Matt 20:25-28 (NKJ)
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
26 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27 "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave__
28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

One of the reasons God decided to reveal the mystery of His will to us is so that we would be able to understand the exceeding greatness of His power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and when He raised Him up to sit in the heavenly places to serve as the Head over all things to the Church which is His Body.

I have enjoyed studying with you this morning. Thank you for listening, and I’ll look forward to being with you 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 Part 10 (5-29-05)

Ephesians 1 Part 10
Bible Study Time 5-29-05

In verse 15 of Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” This says so much about the Apostle Paul and the believers at Ephesus.

God wants us to look for opportunities to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but when we have the chance to lead someone to the Lord, it is so important for us to followup with that person. We need to pray for them, and we need to communicate with them so that we can encourage them in the things of the Lord.

We know that God is going to be working in their lives and doing miraculous things, but the devil is also going to be working. The devil tries to blind the eyes of unbelievers so that they can not see the gospel, but when the Holy Spirit breaks through the darkness to reveal the light of Jesus Christ, the devil steps up his attacks to keep the new believer from growing in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Paul had labored for about three years in Ephesus. He had seen God do miraculous things, both physically and spiritually, but it had been a long time since he had seen them face to face. However, he never stopped thinking about them. He never stopped praying for them. He never stopped trusting God for their spiritual welfare. But he was also acutely aware of the devil’s spiritual warfare.

He had seen the division and strife in Corinth, as well as overt immorality. In II Corinthians, Paul said in effect, “We have to be on guard lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

He had seen the judaizers come into the Galatian churches where the people were turning back to the Law of Moses. Paul told the Galatian believers:

Gal 3:1 (NKJ)
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?

Traveling was difficult in those days, so it probably had been a long while since Paul had heard from the Church in Ephesus, but when he got word that their faith in the Lord Jesus was strong and their love for all the saints was well known, his heart rejoiced.

I’m sure he was excited to write this letter to the Ephesians so that he could once again encourage them in their walk with the Lord. He said, “Since I heard this good report concerning your faith and your love, I have continued to thank God for you and pray for you without ceasing.”

What prayers did he offer on their behalf? First, he prayed that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.

Which God? The God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Which God? The God of glory.

These believers had come out of the corrupt pagan religions which taught the existence of many gods. Paul wanted to encourage the Ephesians in the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the God of glory.

The nation of Israel, as a whole, thought they worshiped the true and the living God, but they did not, for they did not worship the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. They had rejected Jesus Christ as God’s Son and as their messiah.

When Jesus told the Pharisees, “You do the deeds of your father.” They said, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”

Then Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God.”

Paul not only emphasized that the one true God is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ but that God is the God of glory. Paul wanted to reemphasize that we have every reason. We have every motivation to believe in Jesus Christ. He is our hope for future glory. Paul said:

Rom 8:18 (NKJ)
18 . . . I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

The nation of Israel had the presence of God’s Shekinah glory dwelling with them in the wilderness. Today we have the glory of God dwelling within us, for our bodies serve as the temple of the Holy Spirit. However, someday we are going to leave behind our bodies of flesh, and we will be given a new and glorious body as we enter into the glory of heaven. This is our inheritance in Jesus Christ.

In I Corinthians, Chapter 2, Paul paraphrased the words of Isaiah and said:

1 Cor 2:9-10
9 "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.

From time to time in the scriptures we get a glimpse of the glory of God. As the angels announced the savior’s birth, the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and the shepherds were sore afraid.

When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John were awakened from their sleep to see Jesus Christ in all of His glory.

Just before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed:

John 17:5 (NKJ)
5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Later, in that same prayer, the Lord said:

John 17:20-24 (NKJ)
24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He took a body of humiliation and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

And now in Ephesians 1, Paul reminds us that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of glory, and he prays that we who believe might know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.

As Paul writes the Ephesian believers from a Roman prison, he is well aware of the fact that the nation of Israel has rejected Christ as her messiah. From the time of his conversion to Christ, Paul had expected Jesus Christ to return to earth very soon to gather and glorify His saints and establish His kingdom of glory upon the earth.

He had told the Corinthian believers that they should not take any matter to a secular court because they would be judging the world in the kingdom. He also told the men of that congregation that if they were single, they should not seek a wife because, as Paul put it, “The form of this world is passing away.”

But now all of that had been set aside, and one would think that Paul would have been in the depths of despair. But quite the opposite was true.

Well, why is that?

As we saw in Ephesians 1:8 and 9, God had revealed to Paul the mystery of His will. Paul could see that God knew all along that Israel would reject Christ. God knew they would reject the Father in the Old Testament. God knew they would reject the Son during Christ’s earthly ministry, and God knew they would reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit during the Acts period. None of this took God by surprise.

God’s plan from the beginning was that Israel would reject Christ and be set aside on a temporary basis, while God created a new body of believers composed of Jews and Gentiles alike. A new body of believers saved by simple faith in Jesus Christ. This was and is the mystery of God’s will which was revealed to the Apostle Paul.

When Paul heard of the faith of the Ephesians and of their love for the saints, he prayed without ceasing that the Holy Spirit would give to them wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. He prayed that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.

Paul certainly knew the blessing of joy and assurance that comes with understanding. Paul had always been very sincere, even when he was sincerely wrong. At one time, he sincerely thought that Jesus Christ was an imposter, but he was wrong. God had to shut his eyes in order to open them. When Paul met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded by the light, but the eyes of his understanding were opened, and he called Jesus Lord. He said, “Lord, what would you have me to do?”

At one time, Paul sincerely thought that the Jews would acknowledge Christ as their promised messiah within a very short time, but he was wrong. He had said, “There is coming a time when all Israel will be saved.” But he did not know that it would be thousands of years in the future before Israel’s salvation would occur.

Paul had a lot of growing to do in terms of his understanding, but the beautiful thing about Paul is that he truly wanted to know everything that he could possibly learn about God’s plan and purpose. Paul was not just trying to fine tune his theology so that he could attract a large following of converts. He was truly seeking to know God’s will.

Jesus said, “If you seek you will find.” And Paul found what he was seeking. God revealed more truth and deeper truth to and through Paul than through any other apostle. God revealed to Paul the mystery of God’s will.

Paul was praying that the Ephesians would be able to experience for themselves the joy that comes with having the eyes of their understanding opened so that they could know the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.

Paul had been raised with an understanding of the promised Messiah. He had been raised with an understanding of the promised kingdom. His whole life had been dedicated to these two theological points. But when Paul saw that Israel’s kingdom had been set aside, and when he saw that Jesus was more than just Israel’s Messiah, he was overwhelmed. He was overjoyed. He knew that he could never express in words how marvelous, how wonderful, how glorious was the plan of God.

He just said to the Ephesians, “I pray that God will open your eyes to see the wonder of it all.”

Even still we today have to read between the lines. We have to read between the words. We have to read between the letters to get a glimpse of the glory of it all. It is truly too marvelous for words to fully express.

Paul essentially said, “I could never have guessed that the Messiah could be all that Jesus Christ is, but I am praying that your eyes will be opened to see what I have seen. It is through Christ that we see the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He accomplished in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.”

Is it possible for us today to grasp the full impact of these words? Well, we can, but only by the wisdom and revelation which is given by the Holy Spirit, for today Christ has not only been raised from the dead, but He has been seated at God’s 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 age but also in that which is to come.

Never, throughout all of eternity, will there ever be a name which carries more weight of authority than that of Jesus Christ. Which implies more might or more power than that of Jesus Christ. Never, throughout all of eternity, will there ever be a name which reveals more love or more grace than that of Jesus Christ. Even now God has put all things under Christ’s feet and has given Him to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

When Paul accepted Christ as his Savior, he had no idea the depth of wisdom and revelation that God was going to give to him, but whatever God had for him, Paul knew that he wanted it. Many times if you talk to people about the things of the Lord, they will say, “Well, you really need to talk to my preacher about that.” Or, “My church believes this or that.”

God has so much to reveal to us, but the truths of God’s word have to be applied individually. Our churches can only grow if we grow as individuals. God wants to deal with each one of us on a personal level. I don’t know about you, but I love the one on one attention I get from God.

All believers today are members of this church which is revealed in the book of Ephesians. We are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of our Church. Therefore, we can take every word written to the Ephesians and take as if it were written directly to us. God wants the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit so that we may know the hope of God’s calling for us, so that we may know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.

Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning. It has been a pleasure being with you, and I’ll look forward to being with you 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/