Ephesians 1:11-12
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Let's just start with this: Israel was regarded as the Lord's inheritance and portion. The church, the new Israel, becomes a part of that same promise. Here is the basis for these verses: Paul is reminding his readers that his people, the Jews, were the first to put their hope in Christ, in a coming Messiah. This idea was distinct to their faith. No other faith held the idea of a savior within their belief systems. The Gentiles had not entertained this notion. So as not to think that somehow Christians have usurped Jewish privileges, Paul is emphasizing Israel's important role in God's story to expand His kingdom. It was Israel who was chosen to introduce God's mercy and grace to all the nations. It was Israel who was chosen to bring forth God's word from generation to generation. No, Christians have not usurped Jewish privileges . . . they have been brought in to inherit those same privileges to the praise and glory of God who has worked this out from the beginning.
Israel was regarded as the Lord's inheritance and portion. I've always found this to be a difficult concept. Here's what I think it means. "Inheritance" should be thought of as qualities and markings and characteristics we inherit from our parents. In this sense, Israel was to reflect the goodness of God. And "portion," in this sense, means part of a whole. Israel was a part of God's creation just like the other nations. The difference being that God took that portion (Israel) and cared for them and gave them promises as an example of what He wants for all of us. The foreordained plan for Israel was to make known to the nations the wondrous works of God, His unfathomable and all-consuming love and His unending mercy and grace to the rest of us. Now, maybe they haven't always succeeded in that task, but then, neither have I.
My next post (Ephesians 1:13-14) will bring further clarification on these verses and will hopefully round it out a bit more.
To his glory,
Kerry
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A HIGH CALLING
Ephesians 1:9-10
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Life doesn't make sense sometimes . . . a lot of the time. Things in our world can feel very confusing what with all the political, economic and environmental drama going on every single day (not to make light of any of it!). It's hard to always know which views are right and which are wrong. The lines of moral conduct are blurred at best. There's always a cause to support and a hill to die on but, at the end of the day, have you fulfilled God's calling in your life to unity and love or did you let all those causes and hills separate you?
One of the purposes of Paul's letter to the Ephesians was to broaden their understanding of the Church and its part in God's story of humankind. Paul begins by drawing attention to God's gracious gifts given to us in all of God's wisdom and forethought, not the least of those gifts being salvation. All of this we've already discussed. And, in the same way that God has planned for you, another concept we've already discussed, He has also had a plan for the "times." The "times" encompasses all of history until the moment of Christ's return. Christ's appearance in the New Testament unlocked the "mystery" of His will for humankind. His will for us, Church, is to bring Him praise and glory, to love Him, and, in the end, reign with Him. But, not only that, it's also to show others the way to His love, through His Son, Jesus. The Church was created to bring all believers together under one head, that "Head" being Jesus Christ. We are to be an example of unity and love no matter color, race, gender or age. The same unity and love that binds the Trinity together should also bind us as believers. The Church is to be an example now of how things will be when Christ returns and rules the nations and all peoples no matter color, race, gender or age. In Paul's day, the lines of separation were hard and fast. Very simply put, the Jews were struggling with elitism and rules and the Gentiles were struggling with loose morals and monotheism. (Though, believe me, those issues crossed both lines.) Sounds a little familiar. Yes? Now, it's true, most of the time we fail to be such a great example. We have our own hard and fast lines of separation in our world today: political, denominational, doctrinal, racial, moral . . . the list can go on.
This great mystery IS the Lord's return. His return will bring the end of confusion. Questions about correct doctrine will be no more because Christ will reign supreme! Political views will no longer separate us because Christ will reign supreme! Denominational differences will cease to exist because Christ will reign supreme! Societal ills will fall away because Christ will reign supreme! Broken relationships, financial hardships, sickness and disease will melt before the One whose love captured us at the Cross! All things in heaven and on earth will be subject to His reign and rule. That includes the nations and heads of nations. It includes churches and pastors and governing boards of all kinds. It includes you and me and everything that besets us. In the light of Christ, all things are made right.
There's a lot of questions on this earth that we can't answer -- a lot of things that make no sense. The hard things we face in life can make us wonder, "Why, if God is such a loving God, does He allow this kind of suffering?" The Church is not called to have all the answers. Some things in this life are simply unanswerable. The Church is called, however, to be salt and light to a world where many of the lines of truth and moral conduct are blurred at best -- where hurts and sorrows overtake us to the point of hopelessness. The Church is called to be the place where no one is EVER turned away but, instead, shown the love and light of God in His Son, Jesus. God has given the Church the high calling to be unified in the love of Jesus Christ - perhaps our greatest challenge on this earth - and to show the immeasurable grace from the One who calls us to unity. One day, all questions will be answered. Church, you can take comfort in the fact that God holds the "times" in His hand and one day Christ will return and all things will be made right and life will make sense. Fully. Until that day, Church, remember God's will for you: unity and love.
Accepting His call,
Kerry
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Life doesn't make sense sometimes . . . a lot of the time. Things in our world can feel very confusing what with all the political, economic and environmental drama going on every single day (not to make light of any of it!). It's hard to always know which views are right and which are wrong. The lines of moral conduct are blurred at best. There's always a cause to support and a hill to die on but, at the end of the day, have you fulfilled God's calling in your life to unity and love or did you let all those causes and hills separate you?
One of the purposes of Paul's letter to the Ephesians was to broaden their understanding of the Church and its part in God's story of humankind. Paul begins by drawing attention to God's gracious gifts given to us in all of God's wisdom and forethought, not the least of those gifts being salvation. All of this we've already discussed. And, in the same way that God has planned for you, another concept we've already discussed, He has also had a plan for the "times." The "times" encompasses all of history until the moment of Christ's return. Christ's appearance in the New Testament unlocked the "mystery" of His will for humankind. His will for us, Church, is to bring Him praise and glory, to love Him, and, in the end, reign with Him. But, not only that, it's also to show others the way to His love, through His Son, Jesus. The Church was created to bring all believers together under one head, that "Head" being Jesus Christ. We are to be an example of unity and love no matter color, race, gender or age. The same unity and love that binds the Trinity together should also bind us as believers. The Church is to be an example now of how things will be when Christ returns and rules the nations and all peoples no matter color, race, gender or age. In Paul's day, the lines of separation were hard and fast. Very simply put, the Jews were struggling with elitism and rules and the Gentiles were struggling with loose morals and monotheism. (Though, believe me, those issues crossed both lines.) Sounds a little familiar. Yes? Now, it's true, most of the time we fail to be such a great example. We have our own hard and fast lines of separation in our world today: political, denominational, doctrinal, racial, moral . . . the list can go on.
This great mystery IS the Lord's return. His return will bring the end of confusion. Questions about correct doctrine will be no more because Christ will reign supreme! Political views will no longer separate us because Christ will reign supreme! Denominational differences will cease to exist because Christ will reign supreme! Societal ills will fall away because Christ will reign supreme! Broken relationships, financial hardships, sickness and disease will melt before the One whose love captured us at the Cross! All things in heaven and on earth will be subject to His reign and rule. That includes the nations and heads of nations. It includes churches and pastors and governing boards of all kinds. It includes you and me and everything that besets us. In the light of Christ, all things are made right.
There's a lot of questions on this earth that we can't answer -- a lot of things that make no sense. The hard things we face in life can make us wonder, "Why, if God is such a loving God, does He allow this kind of suffering?" The Church is not called to have all the answers. Some things in this life are simply unanswerable. The Church is called, however, to be salt and light to a world where many of the lines of truth and moral conduct are blurred at best -- where hurts and sorrows overtake us to the point of hopelessness. The Church is called to be the place where no one is EVER turned away but, instead, shown the love and light of God in His Son, Jesus. God has given the Church the high calling to be unified in the love of Jesus Christ - perhaps our greatest challenge on this earth - and to show the immeasurable grace from the One who calls us to unity. One day, all questions will be answered. Church, you can take comfort in the fact that God holds the "times" in His hand and one day Christ will return and all things will be made right and life will make sense. Fully. Until that day, Church, remember God's will for you: unity and love.
Accepting His call,
Kerry
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
BLESSINGS, BLESSINGS AND MORE BLESSINGS!
Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV
Blessings, blessings and more blessings! As if grace and peace and being chosen to have life and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms weren't enough . . . we also find the gift of redemption and forgiveness and wisdom and understanding lavishly handed to us. Has there ever been anyone in your life that just seems to give and give and give to you or anyone you might know? Anyone you know who just loves to shower you with gifts without any expectation of getting something in return? And, I mean excessively so! To the point of embarrassment! My guess is that for most of us, probably not. Most of us probably know, however, someone who tends to give more willingly than others. We all know someone whom we can say, "They're just so giving." The truth is, none of us can out-give God. He is the ultimate, unmatched champion Giver!
Redemption in this case simply means to pay a ransom price for the freedom of another, particularly a slave or a prisoner. Friends, we're the slaves. We are the prisoners. And the price paid was the blood of Jesus. His life, the blood that ran through His veins, was poured out so that you and I could be set free from the sin that enslaves us and holds us prisoner to sin's demanding laws. The Levitical system of sacrifices required that something must die, blood must be shed, in order to the pay the penalty for sin of the people. When an animal was sacrificed on the altar, it was extremely messy . . . blood was everywhere . . . it was ugly. And when the fat and meat were burned, everyone could smell it and it happened all day long, everyday at the temple. It was meant to be extremely messy and ugly so that the people would be reminded of how sin destroys life. When Jesus came and died on the cross, He died once for all. No more sacrifice is necessary. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The price has been paid and we no longer have to live in slavery to sin . . . a prisoner held captive by the enemy of our souls.
Forgiveness is ours in Jesus Christ! Top that all off with all the wisdom (i.e. knowledge that sees things as they really are) and understanding (i.e. discernment that leads to right action) you could possibly need in this life if you only ask. (Proverbs 2:2-6, James 1:5) These riches of grace have been lavished, LAVISHED! on us! When we mess up, He forgives. When we falter, He forgives. When we fall, He forgives. When we deliberately sin, He forgives. You cannot out-sin God's lavish grace for you! (Romans 5:20) This all comes at an incalculable cost. The One who gave you life, gave His own that you might live in freedom! "Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people -- free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!" Ephesians 1:7-8, MSG
Free!
Kerry
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Blessings, blessings and more blessings! As if grace and peace and being chosen to have life and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms weren't enough . . . we also find the gift of redemption and forgiveness and wisdom and understanding lavishly handed to us. Has there ever been anyone in your life that just seems to give and give and give to you or anyone you might know? Anyone you know who just loves to shower you with gifts without any expectation of getting something in return? And, I mean excessively so! To the point of embarrassment! My guess is that for most of us, probably not. Most of us probably know, however, someone who tends to give more willingly than others. We all know someone whom we can say, "They're just so giving." The truth is, none of us can out-give God. He is the ultimate, unmatched champion Giver!
Redemption in this case simply means to pay a ransom price for the freedom of another, particularly a slave or a prisoner. Friends, we're the slaves. We are the prisoners. And the price paid was the blood of Jesus. His life, the blood that ran through His veins, was poured out so that you and I could be set free from the sin that enslaves us and holds us prisoner to sin's demanding laws. The Levitical system of sacrifices required that something must die, blood must be shed, in order to the pay the penalty for sin of the people. When an animal was sacrificed on the altar, it was extremely messy . . . blood was everywhere . . . it was ugly. And when the fat and meat were burned, everyone could smell it and it happened all day long, everyday at the temple. It was meant to be extremely messy and ugly so that the people would be reminded of how sin destroys life. When Jesus came and died on the cross, He died once for all. No more sacrifice is necessary. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The price has been paid and we no longer have to live in slavery to sin . . . a prisoner held captive by the enemy of our souls.
Forgiveness is ours in Jesus Christ! Top that all off with all the wisdom (i.e. knowledge that sees things as they really are) and understanding (i.e. discernment that leads to right action) you could possibly need in this life if you only ask. (Proverbs 2:2-6, James 1:5) These riches of grace have been lavished, LAVISHED! on us! When we mess up, He forgives. When we falter, He forgives. When we fall, He forgives. When we deliberately sin, He forgives. You cannot out-sin God's lavish grace for you! (Romans 5:20) This all comes at an incalculable cost. The One who gave you life, gave His own that you might live in freedom! "Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people -- free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!" Ephesians 1:7-8, MSG
Free!
Kerry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)