Not Without the Spirit (Ephesians 1:15-23)

SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 1:15-23

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

COMMENT

Have you ever wondered how the early church grew, thrived, or even survived without men who had seminary degrees, without bloggers, without TV evangelists? My only conclusion can be that it was the working of the Holy Spirit in the believers of the early church. Paul sees this and is thankful for this. I love the phrase, "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you." That speaks to me of the fact that no matter what we think or do, God is in control. I fear that we have lost some of this. Not because God is less powerful, but because we place our faith in knowledge over love. The preacher is exalted as the divine orator of God's plans, and we are to fall in line. I think of the millionaire mega-pastors. I think of a pastor in our city who convince his congregation to move to a new site, buy a large parcel of land, and build a mega building. Then, they would attract new businesses to that area, and sell off some of the extra land to pay for it all (at a handsome profit, of course). Then the 2008 recession hit. They ended up having to lay off some of their staff. I am sure that programs had to be altered, and perhaps their giving to missionaries as well. The pastor soon took a position somewhere else. Having been in ministry for a few years, having gone to church for many others, and even working as a teacher in a Christian school, I have other stories I could tell... 

I wonder if the Jews, who did not understand about the true mission of the Messiah, laughed at the Christians when they suffered. Maybe a "How's your Jesus working for you now!" might have been uttered. But these Christians knew that it was not about an earthly kingdom or for our ease and comfort that Jesus bled and died. 

The church, and I mean the real, universal body of true believers is His body, is the fullness of Him. Not the local congregation, although there are some that fulfill this role well. While others put on an impressive show of wealth and piety. I think we would do well to measure our actions against those of the Jewish leaders Jesus constantly had to contend with. I think we would do well to remember that our mission is not to grow or save the church. God has been doing a great job of taking care of that for years. Our mission is to respond to our salvation in love for God and others. Our mission is to reveal His glory through our lives and not our buildings or programs. I think of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

I am not against buildings or programs. But without love, without submission to God' Holy Spirit, it really is in vain.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Wow! I really did not see that going there this morning.

1 Thess 5:16-22

SCRIPTURE

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

COMMENT

Rejoice always. In order to rejoice always, that means in every circumstance. Like Paul and Silas when they sang praises to God while in prison. Don't stop praying. No, not the eyes closed, head bowed kind of prayer, but the constant communication and recognition that God is God, and is always in charge, and works for our ultimate good. Who knows, that kind of attitude could lead to rejoicing always. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. All. Every. Each. Remember, God is in charge. Don't quench the Spirit. Don't throw water on the Holy Ghost. Do not despise prophecies, but at the same time TEST EVERYTHING. Even what your preacher, my preacher, Joel Osteen (etc.) say. You are responsible for what you believe, not the people who speak through lying lips. Make sure you know God, and that the basis for that knowledge comes from what He has revealed about Himself through His word and not through someone's message or your opinion of how things ought to be. Hold fast to the good. Not what you want to be good, but that which is truth. Abstain from every form of evil. 'Nuff said.

Gospel (Galatians 3:1-6)

SCRIPTURE

Galatians 3:1-6
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

LANGUAGE

Vs 1  Foolish - not understanding, unwise, foolish
Vs 1  bewitched - to charm, to bewitch

COMMENT

So it appears that at least some (many?) of the Galatians just did not understand the gospel. I think this is true in the church today as well. We think we know it all. We think we have to do certain good things (while totally ignoring other things) to be saved. But this is not the gospel that was preached to them by Paul! Not only Paul, but many had seen the gospel lived out in the crucifixion of Jesus. And then there is the gift of the Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit, not by following a set of laws, but they received Him through faith. Did they think that would change over time? Here is this wonderful gift of faith, which you get to keep if you obey? No! Here is this wonderful gift of faith, and as you grow in it, you will grow in your obedience. It's called sanctification, and it comes through growing in faith and not through obedience.They had witnessed miracles. Did they think those miracles came because of their obedience? That quote about Abraham, it comes from the Old Testament. (Gen 15:6) It was Abraham's faith that earned his righteousness.

Yet this is what we want to believe, that somehow me and my obedience play a part in the process. I sometimes wonder way we think this way. I think it is just part of our human nature to think that we have to be a part of the process. It is why prosperity preachers are so popular. They even couch their version of works based Christianity into a version that turns faith into a work. "If you are not getting what you want from God, it is because you do not have enough faith!" As if mustard seed faith was not enough. As if we could believe, but not believe good enough. As if a woman could be a little bit pregnant.

This goes to be thoughts on repentance. We are told to repent of our sins and turn to Jesus. No. The repenting is to turn to Jesus, the sins then go away because we love Him and want to please Him. If we are going to say it at all, it should be that we turn (repent) to Jesus, then turn away from our sins. We turn not out of effort, but because they no longer appeal to us.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

A little advice...

Galatians 5:25-26

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Last post talked about living by the Spirit. These two verses offer some interesting thoughts.

First, is that if we live by the Spirit, we will keep in step with the Spirit. At first, I think, "Well, duh!, isn't that obvious?" But then I think again. I am a child, and God is the Father. Can my children keep up with me if I don't sometimes slow down and wait? And that is a beautiful thought, that God my Father patiently watches me, and waits for me was I try to keep pace with Him.

Another thought over this same idea is that of a runner training for a race. If I want to be successful, I have to push myself. Keeping in step with the Spirit is not always an easy task.

The second idea is found in verse 26. We are so human, and as such, we tend to take pride in our successes, even when we are not completely responsible for them. Don't believe me? Think of your favorite sports team, the one you have on your t-shirts and wall of you den and etc. Was was the last time you scored a basket (or field goal, or home run, depending on the sport) for them? Yet how do you feel when they are successful? So to combat our crazy pride in that which God has done for us, Paul offers the reminder to not become conceited. Conceit provokes. And don't envy. It's not about you.

I can do that now.

Galatians 3:10-14

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

This seems to be a continuation of the previous thought, only this time he brings everyone (all) into the concept, rather than singling out the Jews. "All who rely on works..." And this brings us back to the idea he started in Chapter one, where he tells them that they have followed a "different gospel." They had turned away from the gospel of grace through faith, and once again were chasing a false gospel built on works or acts of obedience.

No one is justified by before God by the law. No one. The righteous live by faith, and the law is not of faith. I know this one confuses a lot of people. Either we want to take it to one extreme or the other. Either we want Christianity to be about obedience to an external set of regulations, or we want to make it about a complete freedom from such regulations (See Romans 6:1,2) The truth lies in between, where we obey the ideals of the law because of our love for God, rather than being bound by the law or ignoring any law.

Jesus certainly did not live a life that was free from the law, nor did he preach such a life for his followers. His preacher actually centered on an idea much more difficult and much more demanding. It was that idea that we love God, and surrender fully to him out of our gratitude and love for him. To quote Matt Chandler's thought, "Heaven is not a place for people who do not want to go to hell, it is a place for those who love God." Now, because of Jesus, the promise made to Abraham can be realized. Now, we can live by the Spirit of God and not by the law. But that Spirit will never take us to a place where we violate God's law, because the Spirit is from God and is God!