Ephesians 4 Part 9
Bible Study Time 11-27-05
Though bound with chains, these fallen angels have had great power over the affairs of men, but their chains serve as a constant reminder of the judgment which is to come. When the Lord Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights, Peter says that the Lord went and preached to these angels who are bound with chains. I Peter 3:18 says:
1 Peter 3:18-19 (NKJ)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
Pastor R. B. Shiflet of Mineral Wells, Texas, said in the Timely Messenger, which is published by Grace Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, that these imprisoned spirits may well have been among the angels who intermarried with human beings during the time of Noah and that when the Lord was preaching to them, He was making a great victory speech in which He was declaring His authority over them.
When Christ arose from the dead, He made a public spectacle of these fallen angels, and it is only logical that at this same time He rescued the spirits of all of the Old Testament saints from Adam to the time of the cross.
We do not know exactly what those spirits are able to comprehend or what they understand while they are there in heaven. Do they see the things that we see and do? Do they understand the joy that we experience or the pain that we feel? We simply can not say, but as I have heard my father say that we do know this much, in the Lord’s presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore, which is exactly what Psalm 16 says.
This past week we have been celebrating Thanksgiving, and this is one of those things that we should all be thankful for. In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore. God has said it in His word, and He is not a man that He should lie. What a comfort it is to know that our loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord are experiencing fullness of joy, and what a comfort it is to us as we face our own mortality.
I have at times heard people say that they do not want to cry when they lose a loved one because they want to be strong as a testimony for the Lord. But we need to realize that godly sorrow is beautiful in the sight of the Lord. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who morn, for they shall be comforted.”
In II Corinthians, Paul indicated that godly sorrow is different from the sorrow of the world. He said that the sorrow of the world produces death while godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.
Once, shortly after David was made king of Israel, the Philistines attacked Israel. They managed to take even the city of Bethlehem which is just a few miles from Jerusalem. David and his men fled from Jerusalem to a cave, and at one point his men overheard David saying that he would love a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem. Upon hearing David’s desire, three of his mighty men went down to Bethlehem, broke through the enemy lines. They drew water from the well and brought it to David.
When David saw what they had done, he was overwhelmed to think that God had given him men of such courage and loyalty. So David took a great big drink enjoyed every bit of it. Do you think that’s what he did? No. The Bible says that David poured that water out as a sacrifice to the Lord. It was too precious to drink. It was made sacred by the sacrifice of his men.
I believe that when we grieve with godly sorrow over the loss of a loved one, God receives our tears as a sacred offering. When our tears bring us to the point of recognizing God’s sovereignty and His goodness, this is beautiful in the sight of God. Our tears become an offering of thanksgiving for that life which He created. Ephesians four says that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus, and God workmanship is something to behold. We have all witnessed God’s ability to create masterful works of art which stand as a testimony to His grace and His love.
When the world sees a believer whose heart is breaking, they can see the difference between those who grieve with no hope and those who grieve with godly sorrow for those who grieve with godly sorrow find comfort in the word of God and in the fellowship of the household of faith. We can only pray that such godly sorrow will lead those who have no hope to see their need for the Savior. Godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.
When our hearts are grieving, we can rest assured that God knows our sorrow, and He will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear. He knows our limits better than we do.
The other day I saw an interview with Dana Reeve whose husband, actor Christopher Reeve, was paralyzed as a result of a horseback riding accident. She told about the fact that she lost her husband and her mother and was diagnosed with lung cancer all in the space of one year.
She said, “Sometimes I wonder how much one little soul can bear.” But, it was obvious that God was giving her the strength to carry through with her cancer treatments and still at the same time champion the cause of research on behalf of paralysis and lung cancer victims. God will give us the strength to sorrow in a godly way, and still carry on with the work He has called us to do.
Just before Jesus was arrested He told His disciples:
John 14:27 (NKJ)
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid
John 16:16, 20, 22
16 "A little while, and you will not see Me; but then again, in a little while, you will see Me, because I go to the Father."
20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, . . . but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
We may sorrow now with a godly sorrow as we offer a sacrifice of tears, but someday our sorrow will turn to joy for we will see the Lord Jesus face to face. The Apostle John said:
Revelation 21:3-4 (NKJ)
3 . . . I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
I see that our time is gone. May God richly bless you as you worship Him today. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week for another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
Bible Study Time 11-27-05
Ephesians Chapter 4 starts off with a discussion of the Unity of the Spirit and then reveals that after Jesus Christ was raised from the dead He ascended up into glory and led captivity captive. Paul confirms this in Colossians 2 when he says that Christ disarmed the principalities and powers of darkness and made a public spectacle of them by his work on the cross.
It seems apparent that it was at this time that the spirits of the Old Testament saints were taken up into the glory of heaven. Before the cross there was no basis upon which the spirits of departed saints could enter into glory. The scriptures indicate that before the cross the spirits of departed saints went to a separate place where they were safe and secure, but they were not in heaven.
The Pharisees of Jesus day taught that there was a place called “the Bosom of Abraham” which was divided into two parts with the saved on one side and the unsaved on the other. The Lord Jesus incorporated these terms and concepts when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke, Chapter 16.
As you will recall, the rich man had all of the finer things of life as a result of his wealth while Lazarus was a beggar who sat at the rich man’s gate, covered with sores, hoping to receive crumbs from the rich man’s table.
The Lord said that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels, not to heaven, but to the Bosom of Abraham. When the rich man died, he went to be tormented in the fires of hell. From his place in hell he could see Abraham a far off, and he could see Lazarus there in Abraham’s Bosom.
When the rich man asked if Lazarus could come to him with but a drop of water on the tip of one finger, Abraham said, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
The picture painted by the Lord Jesus of Abraham’s Bosom is a little different from the teaching of the Pharisees. Rather than being one place that was divided into two parts, the Lord had Abraham’s Bosom far away from the fires of hell but still close enough that the rich man could still see and communicate with Abraham.
We can not tell if this was the account of a literal event or if it was a parable which Jesus told to make a point, but either way it does seem that the Lord was confirming the fact that at that time the spirits of saved people went some place other than heaven.
We can praise the Lord today that the spirits of departed saints go directly into the presence of the Lord. This is made clear in I Thessalonians 4 where Paul says:
1Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NKJ)
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Notice that Paul says that God will bring with Him those who are asleep in Jesus. Well, who is it that He is coming to get? Those who are asleep in Jesus. In fact, Paul says that those who sleep in Jesus will rise first followed by those who are alive and remain. From this we see that those who sleep in Jesus today are with the Lord in spirit form even while their bodies lie in the grave.
It seems that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, He triumphed over the principalities and powers of darkness and took the spirits of the departed saints with Him into the glory of heaven.
This scene is reminiscent of the time that Abraham rescued Lot and his family from captivity. Five evil kings came up against Sodom and Gomorrah and took the cities captive. Lot and family were taken away by these invading armies. One of Lot’s servants was able to escape, however, and he went straight to Abraham to tell him the bad news. Genesis 14 tells us that:
Genesis 14:14-16 (NKJ)
14 . . . when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
We have seen that in the Old Testament people were held captive by the curse of sin not only while they were alive but also in this holding place after they died, but when Christ conquered death, hell and the grave, His shed blood provided the necessary means by which all who believe in Him could be set free from the grip of the curse.
Satan and his band of angels were judged by the Lord at the time of their rebellion before the creation. God placed them in everlasting chains. The book of Jude says:
Jude 1:6 (NIV)
6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home-- these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
It seems apparent that it was at this time that the spirits of the Old Testament saints were taken up into the glory of heaven. Before the cross there was no basis upon which the spirits of departed saints could enter into glory. The scriptures indicate that before the cross the spirits of departed saints went to a separate place where they were safe and secure, but they were not in heaven.
The Pharisees of Jesus day taught that there was a place called “the Bosom of Abraham” which was divided into two parts with the saved on one side and the unsaved on the other. The Lord Jesus incorporated these terms and concepts when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke, Chapter 16.
As you will recall, the rich man had all of the finer things of life as a result of his wealth while Lazarus was a beggar who sat at the rich man’s gate, covered with sores, hoping to receive crumbs from the rich man’s table.
The Lord said that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels, not to heaven, but to the Bosom of Abraham. When the rich man died, he went to be tormented in the fires of hell. From his place in hell he could see Abraham a far off, and he could see Lazarus there in Abraham’s Bosom.
When the rich man asked if Lazarus could come to him with but a drop of water on the tip of one finger, Abraham said, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”
The picture painted by the Lord Jesus of Abraham’s Bosom is a little different from the teaching of the Pharisees. Rather than being one place that was divided into two parts, the Lord had Abraham’s Bosom far away from the fires of hell but still close enough that the rich man could still see and communicate with Abraham.
We can not tell if this was the account of a literal event or if it was a parable which Jesus told to make a point, but either way it does seem that the Lord was confirming the fact that at that time the spirits of saved people went some place other than heaven.
We can praise the Lord today that the spirits of departed saints go directly into the presence of the Lord. This is made clear in I Thessalonians 4 where Paul says:
1Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NKJ)
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Notice that Paul says that God will bring with Him those who are asleep in Jesus. Well, who is it that He is coming to get? Those who are asleep in Jesus. In fact, Paul says that those who sleep in Jesus will rise first followed by those who are alive and remain. From this we see that those who sleep in Jesus today are with the Lord in spirit form even while their bodies lie in the grave.
It seems that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, He triumphed over the principalities and powers of darkness and took the spirits of the departed saints with Him into the glory of heaven.
This scene is reminiscent of the time that Abraham rescued Lot and his family from captivity. Five evil kings came up against Sodom and Gomorrah and took the cities captive. Lot and family were taken away by these invading armies. One of Lot’s servants was able to escape, however, and he went straight to Abraham to tell him the bad news. Genesis 14 tells us that:
Genesis 14:14-16 (NKJ)
14 . . . when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
We have seen that in the Old Testament people were held captive by the curse of sin not only while they were alive but also in this holding place after they died, but when Christ conquered death, hell and the grave, His shed blood provided the necessary means by which all who believe in Him could be set free from the grip of the curse.
Satan and his band of angels were judged by the Lord at the time of their rebellion before the creation. God placed them in everlasting chains. The book of Jude says:
Jude 1:6 (NIV)
6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home-- these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
Though bound with chains, these fallen angels have had great power over the affairs of men, but their chains serve as a constant reminder of the judgment which is to come. When the Lord Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights, Peter says that the Lord went and preached to these angels who are bound with chains. I Peter 3:18 says:
1 Peter 3:18-19 (NKJ)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
Pastor R. B. Shiflet of Mineral Wells, Texas, said in the Timely Messenger, which is published by Grace Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, that these imprisoned spirits may well have been among the angels who intermarried with human beings during the time of Noah and that when the Lord was preaching to them, He was making a great victory speech in which He was declaring His authority over them.
When Christ arose from the dead, He made a public spectacle of these fallen angels, and it is only logical that at this same time He rescued the spirits of all of the Old Testament saints from Adam to the time of the cross.
We do not know exactly what those spirits are able to comprehend or what they understand while they are there in heaven. Do they see the things that we see and do? Do they understand the joy that we experience or the pain that we feel? We simply can not say, but as I have heard my father say that we do know this much, in the Lord’s presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore, which is exactly what Psalm 16 says.
This past week we have been celebrating Thanksgiving, and this is one of those things that we should all be thankful for. In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore. God has said it in His word, and He is not a man that He should lie. What a comfort it is to know that our loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord are experiencing fullness of joy, and what a comfort it is to us as we face our own mortality.
I have at times heard people say that they do not want to cry when they lose a loved one because they want to be strong as a testimony for the Lord. But we need to realize that godly sorrow is beautiful in the sight of the Lord. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who morn, for they shall be comforted.”
In II Corinthians, Paul indicated that godly sorrow is different from the sorrow of the world. He said that the sorrow of the world produces death while godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.
Once, shortly after David was made king of Israel, the Philistines attacked Israel. They managed to take even the city of Bethlehem which is just a few miles from Jerusalem. David and his men fled from Jerusalem to a cave, and at one point his men overheard David saying that he would love a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem. Upon hearing David’s desire, three of his mighty men went down to Bethlehem, broke through the enemy lines. They drew water from the well and brought it to David.
When David saw what they had done, he was overwhelmed to think that God had given him men of such courage and loyalty. So David took a great big drink enjoyed every bit of it. Do you think that’s what he did? No. The Bible says that David poured that water out as a sacrifice to the Lord. It was too precious to drink. It was made sacred by the sacrifice of his men.
I believe that when we grieve with godly sorrow over the loss of a loved one, God receives our tears as a sacred offering. When our tears bring us to the point of recognizing God’s sovereignty and His goodness, this is beautiful in the sight of God. Our tears become an offering of thanksgiving for that life which He created. Ephesians four says that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus, and God workmanship is something to behold. We have all witnessed God’s ability to create masterful works of art which stand as a testimony to His grace and His love.
When the world sees a believer whose heart is breaking, they can see the difference between those who grieve with no hope and those who grieve with godly sorrow for those who grieve with godly sorrow find comfort in the word of God and in the fellowship of the household of faith. We can only pray that such godly sorrow will lead those who have no hope to see their need for the Savior. Godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.
When our hearts are grieving, we can rest assured that God knows our sorrow, and He will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear. He knows our limits better than we do.
The other day I saw an interview with Dana Reeve whose husband, actor Christopher Reeve, was paralyzed as a result of a horseback riding accident. She told about the fact that she lost her husband and her mother and was diagnosed with lung cancer all in the space of one year.
She said, “Sometimes I wonder how much one little soul can bear.” But, it was obvious that God was giving her the strength to carry through with her cancer treatments and still at the same time champion the cause of research on behalf of paralysis and lung cancer victims. God will give us the strength to sorrow in a godly way, and still carry on with the work He has called us to do.
Just before Jesus was arrested He told His disciples:
John 14:27 (NKJ)
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid
John 16:16, 20, 22
16 "A little while, and you will not see Me; but then again, in a little while, you will see Me, because I go to the Father."
20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, . . . but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
We may sorrow now with a godly sorrow as we offer a sacrifice of tears, but someday our sorrow will turn to joy for we will see the Lord Jesus face to face. The Apostle John said:
Revelation 21:3-4 (NKJ)
3 . . . I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
I see that our time is gone. May God richly bless you as you worship Him today. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week for another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
