Question from a reader:
EVERYTHING FOR THE SON?
If I may be so bold, I can't agree with your statement "EVERYTHING GOD DOES IS FOR HIS SON AND EVERY BLESSING THAT COMES FROM THE FATHER IS FOR HIS SON."
Doesn't that contradict John 3:16? I have always believed that Jesus was put here to demonstrate God's love for US, in an up close and personal way that we could understand. His life was sacrificed for US. Maybe I'm reading too much into that remark, but it really took me by surprise.
***************** ****************** ***************** ******************
ANSWER:
When I first began exploring the idea that God’s primary focus is His Son, I felt like I was losing something from Him! This really bothered me and became a permanent question in my mind whenever I studied the Bible. But after awhile (a very long while), I learned that God put me into His Son, and His Son into me, and included me in their blessed relationship so that I could have the same loving relationship with the Father that the Son has with Him. Now I understand that I have amazing security and infinite love.
Seeing the Bible from beginning to end really helps. Here’s a snapshot: God, from eternity past wanted many sons (and daughters – but the Bible refers to all of us as ‘sons.’), so He created a world and populated it with people who could understand Him, communicate with Him and respond to Him (all possible because they were created in His image). God wanted to pour His love out to His special creature and be loved in return. But sin came in – man was ruined. Now a holy God has to do something so He can have a relationship with an UNholy people.
Let’s make sure we’re clear about the reason God created people: it was so He could pour out His love for His own pleasure and satisfaction. It is His nature to love – He was making a way to fulfill His desire to love to a creature who could accept and respond to His love. However, after sin was introduced into the scene, this was no longer possible for two reasons: 1) God cannot be in the presence of sin and 2) man could no longer respond to God because his sinful nature causes him to rebel against God and desire independence from Him.
Going on with our snapshot:
God put together a whole nation of people (Israel) with whom He could have a relationship. He gave them their own land and spelled out very specific laws to enable them to live a holy life. Other nations could come to know the God of Israel by learning about Him from this Godly nation.
Now we know that did not happen because Israel was unfaithful to God; they rejected God, His law and all His blessings. The fact of the matter is this is exactly what the Law was designed to do (as we learn in the book of Galatians). God knew that Man needed evidence, from personal experience, to realize how sinful his own heart and mind are. Israel provided that evidence for all to see.
Now that mankind has demonstrated the extent of his rebellion against God, it’s time for the Savior to enter the world scene. He comes to 1) reveal/demonstrate the love of God the Father and His desire for relationship with mankind 2) display the holiness of God in person and 3) pay God’s required price to redeem both man and the cursed earth.
Christ accomplished these three things by 1) living a life of love and compassion toward mankind while He revealed the Father, 2) living a perfect life under the Law (as a demonstration of God’s holiness, and to qualify Him to be the spotless sacrifice), and 3) shedding His blood for the redemption of mankind.
This where John 3:16 comes in. God so loved . . . that He gave, so that men could have everlasting life. From God’s perspective, the price is paid. Now, if a person believes that Christ paid the price and accepts it as his own price for sin, God no longer has to judge him for sin. However, where does that leave him? It leaves him on earth, free from the fear of judgment – that’s it! We’re like the apostle Peter who loved the Lord but could not live for the Lord. This is not enough for God the Father – and it is not enough for us either.
God the Father and the Lord Jesus had more in mind for us. John 17:26 tells us: I have made You known to them,
and will continue to make You known in order that THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR ME MAY BE IN THEM and that I myself may be in them. Spoken while Jesus was still on earth, right before His death, this statement is only a peek at what God had in mind. The Lord Jesus went back to heaven to be with His Father; from there He carries on work that goes beyond redemption. If we pay attention we can experience the kind of love mentioned in John 17. Paul is the person set aside to tell us about the Lord’s heavenly work.
The gospels focus on redemption, and on God as my Father who takes care of my needs on earth. However, Jesus going back to heaven changes everything! He is now before the Father continuing His work on behalf of His own (work that is explained in the book of Hebrews) and He has sent the Spirit to indwell us. We are “included in Christ” (Ephesians 1:13). We have blessings that go far beyond redemption! This is what Paul teaches us in Ephesians.
Ephesians 1 is written to show us God’s perspective – everything comes to us through the heavenly Son now because He is Head over all things (vs10). Then, Ephesians 2 is written from our perspective – we are on earth learning to live in light of the truths of chapter 1. There is a progressive unfolding of Truth throughout Scripture, Paul brings a new revelation, just as Christ brought new revelation when He came to the earth.
God does not approach us in the same way He approached innocent man in the garden of Eden. We are only able to be in His presence because of His Son. Our blessings are in Christ – we have no blessings apart from Him. They are wonderful, rich, exciting blessings – everything God does in and for us is to make it possible for Him to pour out His love to us. But He can only do that now in His Son – the Lord Jesus deserves the blessings because He paid for them; God the Father has made it possible for us to share in the blessings of His own beloved Son – our part is to believe and receive.
God so loved that world that He gave His Son – keep reading in John Chapter 3. Go to verse 35 where it says “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” Then read Ephesians 1:18 where Paul prays for believers, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” What is the inheritance in the saints? Christ has an inheritance and He’s going to take possession of it through his saints. It is not our inheritance, we don’t deserve anything – the One who paid for sin gets the inheritance from the Father.
Does this hurt our feelings? Well, I can tell you that I didn’t like hearing that I don’t deserve anything! But I looked at the facts and came to understand what God has done so I can have “the love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19) and all the riches that are found in Christ. I feel a lot better about this now that I understand what it means to be ‘in Christ.’
I hope we can continue this discussion – Paul has written things that are not easily understood, which is why he prayed the way he did in Ephesians 1:17-23 and Ephesians 3:14-19.
More helpful Scriptures:
Isa 43:21 This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Col 1:16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.
Rom 11:36 For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Heb 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (He saved us...)
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (so that for all eternity to come we would be trophies of Gods grace!) (Because of Christ and through Christ)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ephesians Lesson 3
#3 Ephesians 1: 3-8
The Father’s Love for His Son
Why is it important to consider the Father’s love for His Son? Because we need to know this:
EVERYTHING GOD DOES IS FOR HIS SON AND EVERY BLESSING THAT COMES FROM THE FATHER IS FOR HIS SON.
This cannot be explained or comprehended by reading a few verses or even one whole book of the Bible. More than likely, you will have to change the way you read your Bible in order to see this with the eyes of your heart. We have been trained, by a myriad of Bible teachers, to think of ourselves as the center of God’s attention. First, He created earth for mankind, then He gave us laws to live by, then He sent His Son to die for us so we could spend eternity with Him. Although this is all true, God’s primary thought is for His Son, not for us.
God does bless us and He is our loving heavenly Father, but these privileges are the results of our being included in the relationship He has with His beloved Son. Paul uses the phrase in Christ repeatedly – every blessing we have is owing to the relationship the Son has with His Father. Notice how God the Father introduces His Son in Matthew 3. As heaven opened and God’s Spirit came down, He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found My delight.” And in John 17 Jesus said to His Father, “You loved me before the foundation of the world.” Compare those words to what God said at the creation of the first man, Adam, “very good” (Gen. 1).
How many of us have thought about Adam and Eve in the garden and have wished that we could walk with God, in innocence, the way they did? Would you settle for “very good” if you could have intimacy instead? We are included in Christ – that means we have the same relationship with the Father that the Son has with the Him. The spiritual blessings that Paul talks about in Ephesians are heavenly blessings, they are blessings that Jesus, raised and glorified, receives from His Father and imparts to us. Remember John 17:26, Father…I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.
Why does He share His blessings with us? Are they primarily for our own enjoyment? They are not. God the Father includes us in His Son because we cannot belong to Him unless we are “holy and blameless in His sight” (vs 4). I used to think that this verse was telling me to be holy and blameless; therefore, I thought I needed to try harder to obey God. He knows I cannot do this; therefore, He has done all that is necessary so that every one of us can meet His requirements:
• He chose us in Him before the creation of the world (vs 4)
• He adopted us as His sons (vs 5)
• He has freely lavished us grace upon us (vs 6)
God has put us in His Son so that we can have communion with Him, be near to Him, and understand His ways. This gives Him pleasure and ensures that we will enjoy Him as well. The ultimate proof that God loves us as much as He loves His own Son will be demonstrated when we share the glory of Christ in front of the eyes of the entire world. He has promised that His Church will reign with Him as His pure and spotless Bride.
In the book of Romans, the Spirit of God emphasizes the total ruin of man in the depths of his nature; the focus is on man’s depravity and need for redemption. This is not the topic in Ephesians. Here God is acting for His own pleasure and delighting in His own goodness. Sin is already put away, that is not the point of the discussion.
The putting away of sin is not a thing that goes on in my heart, but a mighty work that God brought about in the cross of His beloved Son, on which He calls me to rest, because on it He rests. (Wm Kelly)
We might ask, “How do we enjoy the riches of Christ while we slog around in the muck of this world – suffering with illness, financial loss, emotional pain and the general depravity of our environment?” Keep in mind that Paul is speaking from personal experience; he wrote this letter from prison. He is deprived of the comforts of life, cut off from his friends, beaten, and maligned because He is dedicated to Christ; yet he celebrates the love of the Father for the Son and the “riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (vs 8). Paul reaches up to the heavenly realms, and back to eternity past, to anchor us in the blessings that belong to Christ – blessings that cultivate our spiritual growth while we endure life on a fallen planet.
The Father’s Love for His Son
Why is it important to consider the Father’s love for His Son? Because we need to know this:
EVERYTHING GOD DOES IS FOR HIS SON AND EVERY BLESSING THAT COMES FROM THE FATHER IS FOR HIS SON.
This cannot be explained or comprehended by reading a few verses or even one whole book of the Bible. More than likely, you will have to change the way you read your Bible in order to see this with the eyes of your heart. We have been trained, by a myriad of Bible teachers, to think of ourselves as the center of God’s attention. First, He created earth for mankind, then He gave us laws to live by, then He sent His Son to die for us so we could spend eternity with Him. Although this is all true, God’s primary thought is for His Son, not for us.
God does bless us and He is our loving heavenly Father, but these privileges are the results of our being included in the relationship He has with His beloved Son. Paul uses the phrase in Christ repeatedly – every blessing we have is owing to the relationship the Son has with His Father. Notice how God the Father introduces His Son in Matthew 3. As heaven opened and God’s Spirit came down, He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found My delight.” And in John 17 Jesus said to His Father, “You loved me before the foundation of the world.” Compare those words to what God said at the creation of the first man, Adam, “very good” (Gen. 1).
How many of us have thought about Adam and Eve in the garden and have wished that we could walk with God, in innocence, the way they did? Would you settle for “very good” if you could have intimacy instead? We are included in Christ – that means we have the same relationship with the Father that the Son has with the Him. The spiritual blessings that Paul talks about in Ephesians are heavenly blessings, they are blessings that Jesus, raised and glorified, receives from His Father and imparts to us. Remember John 17:26, Father…I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.
Why does He share His blessings with us? Are they primarily for our own enjoyment? They are not. God the Father includes us in His Son because we cannot belong to Him unless we are “holy and blameless in His sight” (vs 4). I used to think that this verse was telling me to be holy and blameless; therefore, I thought I needed to try harder to obey God. He knows I cannot do this; therefore, He has done all that is necessary so that every one of us can meet His requirements:
• He chose us in Him before the creation of the world (vs 4)
• He adopted us as His sons (vs 5)
• He has freely lavished us grace upon us (vs 6)
God has put us in His Son so that we can have communion with Him, be near to Him, and understand His ways. This gives Him pleasure and ensures that we will enjoy Him as well. The ultimate proof that God loves us as much as He loves His own Son will be demonstrated when we share the glory of Christ in front of the eyes of the entire world. He has promised that His Church will reign with Him as His pure and spotless Bride.
In the book of Romans, the Spirit of God emphasizes the total ruin of man in the depths of his nature; the focus is on man’s depravity and need for redemption. This is not the topic in Ephesians. Here God is acting for His own pleasure and delighting in His own goodness. Sin is already put away, that is not the point of the discussion.
The putting away of sin is not a thing that goes on in my heart, but a mighty work that God brought about in the cross of His beloved Son, on which He calls me to rest, because on it He rests. (Wm Kelly)
We might ask, “How do we enjoy the riches of Christ while we slog around in the muck of this world – suffering with illness, financial loss, emotional pain and the general depravity of our environment?” Keep in mind that Paul is speaking from personal experience; he wrote this letter from prison. He is deprived of the comforts of life, cut off from his friends, beaten, and maligned because He is dedicated to Christ; yet he celebrates the love of the Father for the Son and the “riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (vs 8). Paul reaches up to the heavenly realms, and back to eternity past, to anchor us in the blessings that belong to Christ – blessings that cultivate our spiritual growth while we endure life on a fallen planet.
Ephesians Lesson 1 and 2
#1 Ephesians 1:1-2Paul, the Apostle for This Age
“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN,”and now that you are, “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL NATIONS.” Wait – before you go, read the book of Acts and be inspired by the rush of activity and the way they ‘did church.’ This was my first impression of Christianity as a new believer – get saved and go tell everyone else how to get saved, but don’t forget to be ‘Spirit-filled’ in the process.
These days Christianity is about caring for others and being a part of a community. We read our Bibles looking for information about what we are supposed to do. We seek guidelines regarding how much, and to whom, we should be giving. We try to balance the requirements of daily living with what we perceive to be the requirements of God. Isn’t that exactly what the Jews tried to do in the Old Testament?
God gave them specific direction about what He wanted them to do, and they gave it their best try. He came down to be in their midst – the Shekinah glory dwelling in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple. God rewarded them with blessings, and then took them away when His people gave up on their ‘best try.’ They never understood that a sinful heart was at the root of their very being. No amount of commitment to rule following or a to-do list was going to change the fact that, down deep, they really just wanted to be on their own – independent of God.
Finally, God left the Jews to themselves and they didn’t hear a word from Him for 400 years. Then ever so quietly and gently, He came back to the earth. This time, He took the form of a human child born into humble circumstances. This child lived in complete obedience to, and dependence upon, His true Father: God Himself. This was God’s ‘second man.’ The first man, Adam, failed to live as he was designed to live; then the chosen nation failed to depend upon and trust God as well. Christ came to satisfy God by living the perfect life and then to pay for the sin of man. But that is not all: He came to reveal the heart of God toward sinners. His life reveals the heart of God toward the sinner and His death reveals the wrath of God toward sin.
Some believe that now that sin is paid for God wants saved-sinners to go out and round up more people so they can become saved sinners. While we’re at it, we’re supposed to be a part of a church where we all put up with each other’s idiosyncrasies because we love one another. This falls far short of what God is really after. Our Father desires to have many ‘sons.’ Sons are mature children who know Him well, love Him deeply and respond to Him out of sincere trust. In a word, He desires intimacy with His children. The apostle Paul was called to teach, and model, intimacy with Christ. He did just that; it’s all recorded in his passionate letters to the Churches. The letter to the Ephesians is golden; Paul received personal revelation from the glorified Lord and delights to share it.
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Paul begins to unfold the great secrets of the will of God, and to explain the purpose of God for all who believe, he is careful to identify himself as an apostle: one who carries the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Paul includes the fact that his apostleship is by the will of God. In Galatians, he gives definition to this phrase when he adds these words: sent not from men or by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. He was not sent to explain the thoughts or ideas of any human person; his purpose was to reveal the glorified Man in heaven who would now glorify Himself on the earth through those who are His.
Paul begins each letter with grace and peace, always connecting the two. Grace is a word that expresses the active love of God toward us; it speaks of His initiative as He takes action in loving and choosing us to be His own. Notice, it is God our Father and not God our creator who is the source. The Father sent His Son to serve us, not to claim His rights over us as created beings who owe Him. Grace does not demand that I submit to God as a slave who is required to acknowledge His lordship; He is a Father who continually takes steps to bring us to maturity.
Peace is ours when we grasp the fact that we are members of God’s family: beloved children born of God (Jn 1:13). Just as we are assured of our salvation (we are in the Father’s hand and no one can pluck us out - Jn 10:27), He has made provision for the infirmities, weakness and trials that still plague us while we live on earth. Paul is perfectly equipped to explain these provisions to us, for he experienced grace and peace in the midst of his own suffering and trials. We will begin to see how the Father provides ‘every spiritual blessing’ in our next study.
Lesson 2
Spiritual Blessings Begin with the Father
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Saul of Tarsus, a faithful Hebrew of the Hebrews – a Pharisee, and son of a Pharisee – could never have been filled with such praise. Perhaps he would have said these words, “Praise be to God who has promised us a land of our own, with a king of our own, if only we would obey the 600-plus laws He has given.”
Year after year, as a child, Saul went with his family as they brought young animals to the priest for sacrificial slaughter. As an adult, he diligently continued the practice, eager that God would be satisfied with his obedience and his offerings. What did the constant spilling of sacrificial blood communicate to the one who brought the offering? Saul understood what it meant: YOU CANNOT KEEP THE LAW; THEREFORE YOU ARE NEVER REALLY FREE FROM SIN. The death of an innocent animal made a person acutely aware of his sin; the animal’s death covered sin, but it did not remove sin from the sinner. Saul’s religion was really a relentless reminder that he was in bondage to sin.
Now fast-forward to Paul, the man who was dazzled by the brightness of the resurrected, risen Savior. Suddenly, his attention was directed away from earthly blessings and the work he was obligated to do in order to acquire those blessings. The Spirit of God gripped his heart and transformed his mind – Paul became focused on the heavenly riches that come from the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. He exchanged the tyranny of sin and law for the treasures of heaven. What freedom! You made this very same transaction when you believed in Christ.
As Paul begins to explain the riches of Christ to us, he trips all over himself trying to find the right words. We can only imagine what it must have meant to him as he began to comprehend the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. He could hardly find words to express what the human mind is really not equipped to fully grasp: the fullness of Christ and His relationship with the Father. Saul was tenaciously dedicated to his religion and his God; but that was nothing compared to the passion he gained for the risen Lord. This passion changed him into Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ.
As I study Ephesians, I can’t help but feel Paul’s deep passion: first for his own possession of the riches of Christ, and then for explaining it to others. As we go through this letter, we do well to pay careful attention to the words and phrases he chooses. It is no small thing that Paul refers to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When I first read Paul’s references to ‘the Father,’ I recalled how Christ taught His Jewish disciples to pray to the Father in the so-called Lord’s Prayer in Matthew. This was new to them, they had not been trained to think of God as a father – for the Jew He was creator and judge. During His life on earth, Jesus revealed God’s mercy and compassion for sinners as He taught, healed and rescued people from life-threatening danger. My favorite story in all the gospels is found in Luke 15; commonly called the story of the Prodigal Son, it is really a portrayal of God’s heart for mankind.
Who can read this wonderful story without picturing the father, straining his eyes to see his ragged son returning from the pigsty? I can sense his elation as he gathered his neighbors together to welcome the wayward boy back into the fellowship of his home. He expressed love to his older son as well. This son represented the Pharisees, to whom the parable was directed. He worked the farm and resented the fact that his all his effort seemed to have no value to his father. Convinced that he had to earn his father’s affection, he was unable to take pleasure in it.
The apostle Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a heart firmly rooted in the love of the Father. Notice how he characterizes Him, He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When did God become the Father of the Lord Jesus? Never! He has always been His Father. Paul is not referring to a love that is filled with grace for the sinner, he is drawing us back into eternity past. He is speaking about the love of God the Father for His Son – a relationship that is not tainted by sin! This is where Paul begins for our riches in Christ begin with this love of the Father for the Son. Listen to Jesus right before He went to the cross: Father…I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them. (John 17)
Read and re-read Ephesians chapter 1 – more on this next time . . . . .
“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN,”and now that you are, “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL NATIONS.” Wait – before you go, read the book of Acts and be inspired by the rush of activity and the way they ‘did church.’ This was my first impression of Christianity as a new believer – get saved and go tell everyone else how to get saved, but don’t forget to be ‘Spirit-filled’ in the process.
These days Christianity is about caring for others and being a part of a community. We read our Bibles looking for information about what we are supposed to do. We seek guidelines regarding how much, and to whom, we should be giving. We try to balance the requirements of daily living with what we perceive to be the requirements of God. Isn’t that exactly what the Jews tried to do in the Old Testament?
God gave them specific direction about what He wanted them to do, and they gave it their best try. He came down to be in their midst – the Shekinah glory dwelling in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple. God rewarded them with blessings, and then took them away when His people gave up on their ‘best try.’ They never understood that a sinful heart was at the root of their very being. No amount of commitment to rule following or a to-do list was going to change the fact that, down deep, they really just wanted to be on their own – independent of God.
Finally, God left the Jews to themselves and they didn’t hear a word from Him for 400 years. Then ever so quietly and gently, He came back to the earth. This time, He took the form of a human child born into humble circumstances. This child lived in complete obedience to, and dependence upon, His true Father: God Himself. This was God’s ‘second man.’ The first man, Adam, failed to live as he was designed to live; then the chosen nation failed to depend upon and trust God as well. Christ came to satisfy God by living the perfect life and then to pay for the sin of man. But that is not all: He came to reveal the heart of God toward sinners. His life reveals the heart of God toward the sinner and His death reveals the wrath of God toward sin.
Some believe that now that sin is paid for God wants saved-sinners to go out and round up more people so they can become saved sinners. While we’re at it, we’re supposed to be a part of a church where we all put up with each other’s idiosyncrasies because we love one another. This falls far short of what God is really after. Our Father desires to have many ‘sons.’ Sons are mature children who know Him well, love Him deeply and respond to Him out of sincere trust. In a word, He desires intimacy with His children. The apostle Paul was called to teach, and model, intimacy with Christ. He did just that; it’s all recorded in his passionate letters to the Churches. The letter to the Ephesians is golden; Paul received personal revelation from the glorified Lord and delights to share it.
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Paul begins to unfold the great secrets of the will of God, and to explain the purpose of God for all who believe, he is careful to identify himself as an apostle: one who carries the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Paul includes the fact that his apostleship is by the will of God. In Galatians, he gives definition to this phrase when he adds these words: sent not from men or by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. He was not sent to explain the thoughts or ideas of any human person; his purpose was to reveal the glorified Man in heaven who would now glorify Himself on the earth through those who are His.
Paul begins each letter with grace and peace, always connecting the two. Grace is a word that expresses the active love of God toward us; it speaks of His initiative as He takes action in loving and choosing us to be His own. Notice, it is God our Father and not God our creator who is the source. The Father sent His Son to serve us, not to claim His rights over us as created beings who owe Him. Grace does not demand that I submit to God as a slave who is required to acknowledge His lordship; He is a Father who continually takes steps to bring us to maturity.
Peace is ours when we grasp the fact that we are members of God’s family: beloved children born of God (Jn 1:13). Just as we are assured of our salvation (we are in the Father’s hand and no one can pluck us out - Jn 10:27), He has made provision for the infirmities, weakness and trials that still plague us while we live on earth. Paul is perfectly equipped to explain these provisions to us, for he experienced grace and peace in the midst of his own suffering and trials. We will begin to see how the Father provides ‘every spiritual blessing’ in our next study.
Lesson 2
Spiritual Blessings Begin with the Father
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Saul of Tarsus, a faithful Hebrew of the Hebrews – a Pharisee, and son of a Pharisee – could never have been filled with such praise. Perhaps he would have said these words, “Praise be to God who has promised us a land of our own, with a king of our own, if only we would obey the 600-plus laws He has given.”
Year after year, as a child, Saul went with his family as they brought young animals to the priest for sacrificial slaughter. As an adult, he diligently continued the practice, eager that God would be satisfied with his obedience and his offerings. What did the constant spilling of sacrificial blood communicate to the one who brought the offering? Saul understood what it meant: YOU CANNOT KEEP THE LAW; THEREFORE YOU ARE NEVER REALLY FREE FROM SIN. The death of an innocent animal made a person acutely aware of his sin; the animal’s death covered sin, but it did not remove sin from the sinner. Saul’s religion was really a relentless reminder that he was in bondage to sin.
Now fast-forward to Paul, the man who was dazzled by the brightness of the resurrected, risen Savior. Suddenly, his attention was directed away from earthly blessings and the work he was obligated to do in order to acquire those blessings. The Spirit of God gripped his heart and transformed his mind – Paul became focused on the heavenly riches that come from the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. He exchanged the tyranny of sin and law for the treasures of heaven. What freedom! You made this very same transaction when you believed in Christ.
As Paul begins to explain the riches of Christ to us, he trips all over himself trying to find the right words. We can only imagine what it must have meant to him as he began to comprehend the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. He could hardly find words to express what the human mind is really not equipped to fully grasp: the fullness of Christ and His relationship with the Father. Saul was tenaciously dedicated to his religion and his God; but that was nothing compared to the passion he gained for the risen Lord. This passion changed him into Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ.
As I study Ephesians, I can’t help but feel Paul’s deep passion: first for his own possession of the riches of Christ, and then for explaining it to others. As we go through this letter, we do well to pay careful attention to the words and phrases he chooses. It is no small thing that Paul refers to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When I first read Paul’s references to ‘the Father,’ I recalled how Christ taught His Jewish disciples to pray to the Father in the so-called Lord’s Prayer in Matthew. This was new to them, they had not been trained to think of God as a father – for the Jew He was creator and judge. During His life on earth, Jesus revealed God’s mercy and compassion for sinners as He taught, healed and rescued people from life-threatening danger. My favorite story in all the gospels is found in Luke 15; commonly called the story of the Prodigal Son, it is really a portrayal of God’s heart for mankind.
Who can read this wonderful story without picturing the father, straining his eyes to see his ragged son returning from the pigsty? I can sense his elation as he gathered his neighbors together to welcome the wayward boy back into the fellowship of his home. He expressed love to his older son as well. This son represented the Pharisees, to whom the parable was directed. He worked the farm and resented the fact that his all his effort seemed to have no value to his father. Convinced that he had to earn his father’s affection, he was unable to take pleasure in it.
The apostle Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a heart firmly rooted in the love of the Father. Notice how he characterizes Him, He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When did God become the Father of the Lord Jesus? Never! He has always been His Father. Paul is not referring to a love that is filled with grace for the sinner, he is drawing us back into eternity past. He is speaking about the love of God the Father for His Son – a relationship that is not tainted by sin! This is where Paul begins for our riches in Christ begin with this love of the Father for the Son. Listen to Jesus right before He went to the cross: Father…I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them. (John 17)
Read and re-read Ephesians chapter 1 – more on this next time . . . . .
Ephesians Introduction
Introduction to the study in Ephesians
Behind everything in the created universe is a heart – not just a mind or a will; not merely an ingenious designer with incredible power – but a heart. It is the heart of God and it is expressed in John 3:16: ‘God so loved . . . that He gave.’ It is to this heart that you and I responded when we said ‘yes’ to God and received new life. (T.Austin-Sparks)
New life in Christ requires nurturing, training, testing and proving. Did anyone tell you to expect these things when you received Christ? The fact of the matter is, God allows personal struggle and failure in our lives in an effort to bring us to the place where we will stop trying to produce the Christian life and simply receive it. We are only the branch, He is the vine.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians unveils the secret counsels of God’s loving heart toward believers. We have been well-schooled in the grace of God that brings salvation, but we don’t often hear about the eternal purposes of God and the ways of God through which those purposes are fulfilled. This marvelous letter reveals how the grace that saves souls is the very same grace that transforms lives. As we learn God’s ways (the ways of the vine) we enter into His purpose we become conformed to the image of Christ!
Christ Himself is the center of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He is the only One who satisfies the Father’s heart, therefore He is the only one who can carry out all of God’s purposes. All of God’s promises are fulfilled in Him and all God’s ways are demonstrated in Him. The destiny of each believer is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this letter so that every believer could understand what it means to be in Christ, for without this knowledge we are subject to the flesh – trapped by endless struggle and failure.
Think of all the interactions between God and man throughout the Old Testament. When He expressed love and a desire for obedience, man responded with stubborn independence and persistent defiance. God repeatedly acted out of mercy, but was forced to execute fearful judgment. His persistent love for man lays bare the devastation of the sinful nature. Who will deliver us from the body of this death? Paul tells us who!
Paul was given special revelation from the risen Lord: the secrets, counsels and ways of God – are all revealed in Christ. He explains Christ’s life and purpose in a way that no other Bible author can, for he was set aside to deliver “Grace and Peace” to the believers of this age. The letter to the Ephesians unfolds all spiritual blessings to those who seek them. LJ 12/08
Behind everything in the created universe is a heart – not just a mind or a will; not merely an ingenious designer with incredible power – but a heart. It is the heart of God and it is expressed in John 3:16: ‘God so loved . . . that He gave.’ It is to this heart that you and I responded when we said ‘yes’ to God and received new life. (T.Austin-Sparks)
New life in Christ requires nurturing, training, testing and proving. Did anyone tell you to expect these things when you received Christ? The fact of the matter is, God allows personal struggle and failure in our lives in an effort to bring us to the place where we will stop trying to produce the Christian life and simply receive it. We are only the branch, He is the vine.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians unveils the secret counsels of God’s loving heart toward believers. We have been well-schooled in the grace of God that brings salvation, but we don’t often hear about the eternal purposes of God and the ways of God through which those purposes are fulfilled. This marvelous letter reveals how the grace that saves souls is the very same grace that transforms lives. As we learn God’s ways (the ways of the vine) we enter into His purpose we become conformed to the image of Christ!
Christ Himself is the center of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He is the only One who satisfies the Father’s heart, therefore He is the only one who can carry out all of God’s purposes. All of God’s promises are fulfilled in Him and all God’s ways are demonstrated in Him. The destiny of each believer is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this letter so that every believer could understand what it means to be in Christ, for without this knowledge we are subject to the flesh – trapped by endless struggle and failure.
Think of all the interactions between God and man throughout the Old Testament. When He expressed love and a desire for obedience, man responded with stubborn independence and persistent defiance. God repeatedly acted out of mercy, but was forced to execute fearful judgment. His persistent love for man lays bare the devastation of the sinful nature. Who will deliver us from the body of this death? Paul tells us who!
Paul was given special revelation from the risen Lord: the secrets, counsels and ways of God – are all revealed in Christ. He explains Christ’s life and purpose in a way that no other Bible author can, for he was set aside to deliver “Grace and Peace” to the believers of this age. The letter to the Ephesians unfolds all spiritual blessings to those who seek them. LJ 12/08
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)