Ephesians 1:11-14 You Were Chosen!

Ephesians 1:11-14  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 put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

God has chosen us IN CHRIST to be as He is, eternal and righteous.  He predestined us through Christ's work on the cross to be forever his children in his house.  Paul through his many epistles exposes the believers to God’s wonderful plan of redemption, making believers everlasting and perfect.  Jesus, our redeemer, is the much beloved Son of God who has existed forever with the Father.  We now through Jesus’ work on the cross can enter into a reality beyond our comprehension.  God's mysterious plan hidden from the beginning of time, before anything was created, has been revealed in these last days.  Perfection, being as God is, does not come through man’s efforts or desires, but comes through and IN faith in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for the imperfect, so imperfect that we were dead in sins and transgressions, not alive to the eternal God.  But Jesus’ work on the cross gave us a new life, a born again life.  His resurrection from the flesh was also our resurrection from the flesh.  His death was our death; his resurrection was our resurrection.  Jesus said that we must be born again.  He achieved for us the born again status through his resurrection.  Therefore, all of us who live IN CHRIST AND HIS WORKS by faith are new creatures, never to die anymore.  When Jesus addresses the Sadducees' unbelief in the the resurrection, He talks about this mysterious plan of God to make children of his own. Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth.  But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.  And they will never die again.  In this respect they will be like angels.  They are children of God and children of the resurrection.  (Luke 20:34-36, NLT)  In Hebrews 10, we see the purpose of Jesus Christ on earth explicitly stated. 

“Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law.   Then he (Jesus Christ) said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.  ”He (God) sets aside the first to establish the second.  And by that WILL, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  (Hebrews 10:8-10)  The WILL of God was to have children in his likeness in direct and continuous interaction with him through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in humans.  The Spirit of God is given to all who place their trust in Jesus Christ and his works.  Eventually, we will have face-to-face interaction with God in the heavenly domain after our physical deaths.

God has predestined us to be as He is through Jesus Christ.  Paul tells the Ephesians, God's will is to bring them as Gentiles into perfection through the works of his Son.  This is accomplished according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.  As Paul states in Romans 8:28, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  His plan before the world was created was to have children in his likeness forever with him.  This affinity with God is not by man’s efforts or his will.  This relationship with God as his children was won by Jesus Christ on the cross.  Jesus' sacrifice reveals how much God loves mankind.  Because of man’s waywardness from God’s authority and because of his sinfulness, God almost destroyed all humans, wiping them out of existence forever, but He saved a remnant through Noah’s loins.  And throughout history, He has always saved a remnant because of his love for humans.  God is so holy, righteous, beyond our understanding, that we cannot really understand what sin is in his sight.  Christ came in the flesh to salvage man from sin, to make humans right in God’s sight.  People were made in God’s image, totally good and totally free.  Our freedom to choose betrayed us, for Adam and Eve chose their freedom to be separate from God and his goodness.  But God knew all of this: freedom is still an elixir for humans, hard for humans to handle.  But God’s plan of redeeming humans has always been in his heart from the beginning.  But this revelation of God’s plan is for the mature believer.  Paul tells the Corinthians, No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.   But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.  (1 Corinthians 2:7-8 NLV)  He goes on to say that this plan of God is so magnificent that humans cannot even imagine or appreciate what God has in store for them throughout eternity.  Paul tells us that after his experience in the third heaven either in body or spirit, he could not come back and talk about it.  Probably because he had no words to express what he saw or experienced in heaven.  What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him.  (1 Corinthians 2:7-9)  Our words are based on our reality, on our senses and finiteness.  The plan of God is beyond our imagination, too great for us to know or construct.  In fact, the word says that we will share in Christ’s glory when we get to heaven.  We do not know what it means to share in his glory.  Such a concept as sharing in the glory of the lovely Son of God is far, far beyond our ability to conceive. 

Paul knows this mysterious plan of God to save humans from their condition of death has come to the Ephesians through his teachings to them.  You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  These Gentiles were now being exposed to the Messiah of Israel.  Messiah came for the whole world, not just the Jews.  Jesus first came to the Jews to validate God’s promise to the Jews that He would send the Messiah to them for their redemption and restoration as a people of God.  The Jews were the ultimate remnant; God’s plan to salvage humans from total annihilation.  He placed his law and regulation to secure the Seed He planted in them from their father Abraham.  Jesus carried the DNA of the Israelites.  Abraham’s seed was passed down throughout the ages and came into conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  This Seed, Jesus Christ, would fulfill God’s plan of redeeming mankind from sin and death.  Christ, who created all things, comes in bodily form.  God’s redemption plan was for all people, not just for the Jews.  In Jesus’ dealing with a Canaanite woman in the land of Tyre and Sidon, we see God enlarging Christ’s mission on earth.  A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!  My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”  Jesus did not answer a word.  So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”  He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  The woman came and knelt before him.  “Lord, help me!” she said.  He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”  “Yes it is, Lord,” she said.  “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her,  “Woman, you have great faith!   And her daughter was healed at that moment.  (Matthew 15:22-28)  This woman has no status with these Jewish men that she is beseeching to help her.  First of all she is a Gentile and secondly she is a woman.  The disciples do not want her in their midst.  She is in no position for asking anything of Jesus.  Jesus treats her very coldly, does not even recognize her plea as being worthy of any response,  Jesus did not answer a word.  She is persistent in asking for her daughter’s deliverance from a demon.  Finally, Jesus cooly addresses her, It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.  But the Canaanite woman says something that comes directly out of God’s plan for all humans, "Yes it is, Lord,” she said.  “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table."  She is saying that Jesus’ provisions are so great that there is plenty for everyone, even the dogs.  Jesus' provisions are so great, enough for everyone, even for her Gentile daughter.  We see her faith is great because she recognizes that Jesus has enough redemptive power to solve the needs of all people.  Paul knows the redemptive power of God has come to the Ephesians.  He knows God has placed his seal of salvation on these Gentiles: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus’ provisions are enough for all people.  Because of Paul’s teaching, these Ephesians have fallen in love with Jesus and their status with God is assured.  They are his children, and he knows they are willing to follow Jesus with their whole heart. No longer is the grave their home, but eternal life is theirs, heaven is their home.  Jesus said, Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.  My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.  These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.  (John 14:23-24)  We who are IN CHRIST are like the Ephesians.  We are lovers of Jesus.  We accept his work of grace and we thank God for his great mercy to us.  We receive the plan of God with joy and thanksgiving.  We are chosen as God’s possessions to the praise of his glory!  

 

Ephesians 1:1-10 Let Your Light Shine!

Ephesians 1:1-10  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  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.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love  he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  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, 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 reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus from his imprisonment in Rome.  He spent over two years in Ephesus ministering to the people about God’s salvation plan founded in Jesus Christ.  Now he speaks to the church from prison to encourage them in their faith.  When Paul started his ministry in Ephesus, he encountered several men who were believers.  Apollo from Egypt had been ministering to the Ephesians about Jesus.  He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.  He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.  (Acts 18:24-25)  In Paul’s interaction with these Ephesians, he discovered they had been baptized in John’s baptism of repentance, the baptism Apollo taught.  This baptism was a sign of turning away from sin and believing in the Lord Jesus as Savior.  Paul wanted them to be aware that there is a new life for them, not just a belief about Jesus and repentance. Therefore, he baptizes them in the name of the Holy Spirit, lays his hands on them, and they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues.  This experience brought to them the reality of the Spirit inside them.  This experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as with all other supernatural events in Acts indicates the omnipresence of the Spirit in believers' lives.  The Ephesians had not even heard of the reality of the Holy Spirit.  As we see throughout Acts, the body of believers are made to realize the Spirit of God is with them no matter where they are.  God is not just in the Temple or the holy city of Jerusalem, but He is where the believers are, for He is within them.  Tongues is evidence to the nascent church that God is always actively present.  We also see this awareness of the Holy Spirit present with them at all times shown in the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira.  Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  (Acts 5:3)  The reality of the Spirit in the church brought great fear upon the people, for now they knew God was with them all the time.  Paul’s ministry emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit to transform lives.  This work is the activity of God and not of man.  Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  (Ephesians 2:3-5)  By nature, we were away from God, so far away that we were dead to him.  As in the days of Noah and after the days of Noah, as we see in the narrative of the Jewish people and the harsh judgment of God upon them, humans are not like God in their basic nature.  He is completely righteous, without one fault.  Eternity is the same as God, without one fault.  Never again will I curse the ground because of HUMANS, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.  (Genesis 8:21)  Paul’s ministry and the church's ministry is that Good News to change human nature has come to all people everywhere on the face of the earth.  God’s plan from the beginning of time before anything was ever made was to bring humans into his likeness through and in his Son, Jesus Christ.  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.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love  he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Paul’s ministry to the church spawned from Jesus' directive to him through Ananias.  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.   I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.  (Acts 9:15-16)   Paul does suffer much for the sake of preaching the gospel.  In his second letter to the Corinthians he lays out how much he has suffered in ministering the gospel, but he also describes the marvelous revelations and visions he has received directly from the Holy Spirit.  I must go on boasting.  Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.  Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.  And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.  (2 Corinthians 12:1-5)  He even relates his experience in heaven where he heard things that he could not expound upon, too inexpressible, maybe because our words are based on the reality of our perceptions here on earth.  He experienced  a domain beyond our physical senses.  Paul suffered much for the cause of Christ, but he also received much from the Lord, showing him things that even Peter said were hard to understand.  Through revelation, Paul receives from God the divine plan, conceived from the beginning, to bring humans into the very household of God.  This plan even included categorizing man after the fall as evil and blind, dead to God’s righteousness.  But God’s plan of redemption, making man into his image of righteousness and perfection was to be implemented through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.  Paul's message of redemption never wavers from this glorious plan of God:  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.  Paul willingly placed his life on the altar as a living sacrifice, functioning only for the purposes of God.  He knew that men could change radically under the control of the Holy Spirit.  And because he saw this reality, he now reminds the Ephesians not to go back to the beggarly elements of this world.  His intention in writing this letter is to elevate their understanding of the salvation work within them.  In Christ, they sit in high places in the heavenly realm because they are redeemed, no longer part of the playground of this world.  Jesus unites us with God in his presence, now and forever.  Jesus understands this work of oneness.  He tells his disciples that He prays for those people who will believe on his name.  He prays that all people who put their faith in him will learn to know the Father as He knows the Father, and that they might be One with the Father and him.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  (John 17:20)  Paul's message to the Ephesians completes Jesus’ prayer by making the Gentile and the Jew one IN Jesus Christ, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

As with the Ephesians, we who are IN CHRIST because of our faith in his works are ONE with God.  We are in harmony with God’s work on earth.  We are lights to the dark world.  We express the Holy Spirit’s gift in us.  We see a great light stopping Saul on the way to Damascus.  We also should be that great light that will stop people on the road to their own destruction.  We see a great light coming into Peter’s cell in the form of an angel, telling Peter to wake up, get dressed, and go with him.  This light led him out of prison.  We too are to be people of great light, leading others out of prison into spiritual freedom.  Paul informs the believers again that light has come into the Ephesian church and they should understand who they are.  They are the redeemed who sit in heavenly places with the Father God.  With Christ within, they are the light of Ephesus.  They must carry on with their lives, understanding they are lights in a dark place.  This is the gospel of Christ.  We are to be lights.  We are to be perfect in love, carrying forth the message of Jesus Christ the Redeemer to the world.  Paul writes his letters to the churches because he knows they need encouragement.  He knows they are suffering persecution and harshness from people who live in darkness.  Jesus said they would hate the disciples and that the world will hate those who are redeemed, for the world did not accept Jesus, even God's Chosen people did not accept Jesus, so neither will many of the Gentiles.  But when light comes into our world as it has with Jesus our Savior, we are no longer allowed to just sit.  Peter was told to get up and follow the angel out of his cell.  Saul was told by Jesus on the road to Damascus, get up and go to Damascus.  Just because you are blind, afflicted by this physical infirmity, do not just lie down and moan, waiting to feel better.  No, get up and go.  We who are lights in the world as were the people in the Ephesian church, must get up and  follow Jesus.  We dare not hide our light under a bowl.  You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:14-16)  If we read the end of this letter to the Ephesians, we see Paul asking for prayer so that he might continue spreading the gospel boldly even in his imprisonment.  Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  (Ephesians 6:19-20)   Notice how Paul begins this letter, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Put your name in place of Paul’s name,  ____ a  follower  of Christ Jesus by the will of God.  Fill in your town, the people you know as the ones you want to reach.  See yourself letting your light shine as Paul’s light shone to the Ephesians.  

   

Galatians 6:11-18 Grace Be with You!

Galatians 6:11-18  See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!  Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised.  The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.  Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.  Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.  From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters.  Amen

Paul's conclusion of his letter to the churches in Galatia emphasizes that he has died to this world and everything in it.  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  He tells the Galatians that any part of the law is of no avail to him, for he is dead to the things of this world including circumcision.  Jesus’ death has brought him into a new realm of serving God, one totally of the spirit and not of the body or the letter of the law.  Paul considers the work of the flesh but dung in achieving a right relationship with God.  Active faith in Christ’s work alone brings mankind into the grace of God, not man’s efforts through works.  Man’s best efforts to be as God is are but filthy rags in the sight of a perfect God.  Nevertheless, man has always tried to be righteous outside of God’s authority.  From the very beginning, man’s rebellious nature to God’s control has been evident.  His desire to be independent of God has caused mayhem on the earth; millions have experienced death, rape, torture, destruction and dissensions of all kinds under their independence from God.  Paul understood well this uncontrollable law of sin that captivates mankind’s heart.  Therefore, to be free from this violent nature of man, Paul knew he must die to its influence.  Consequently, he would boast only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ where he would die a vicarious death IN CHRIST through his faith in Jesus’ work and nature, not in his own life and nature.  Jesus completed God’s will to die for sinful man, for a wayward people who were made in his image.  Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”  “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Genesis 3:1-5)  Man’s desire to be as God was conceived under the deception of the devil.  As soon as Adam and Eve were aware of good and evil, they saw themselves as naked, and then hid from a perfect God, believing their nakedness was evil.  They now assessed what was right and wrong, good and evil, in their dwelling place.  Man is still striving to replace God as THE AUTHORITY in his dwelling place.  Much knowledge and wisdom has come to man over the millieneum.  He has achieved much, but he still wants to be independent of God’s authority and will.  Now he is designing artificial-intelligence, computers that will make him the COMPLETE-MAN, without error, maybe even eternal.   He is taking his stand to be like God.  Paul instructs us at the end of his letter to the Galatians that he will not boast in man’s will to be complete and better: he will only boast in the will of God.  God had Jesus die to make him eternal, a COMPLETE CHILD OF GOD, inheriting everything God has for his children.  Paul says, I will boast in Jesus’ death, for I too died with him, and now I am raised with him to dwell in the domain of the eternal God. 

Salvation comes to all who put their trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, boasts in something more than just the cross and his vicarious death on the cross.  He boasts about his dedication to live for Christ while he is still alive.  He knows right standing with God is not achieved by works.  God will only accept the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, to take away sins, not the sacrifice of men’s lives.  But the natural outcome of life IN CHRIST, dead to this world and everything in it, is action.  Salvation does not come through actions to earn redemption, but it is a result of grace.  Christians who are redeemed will seal their commitment to God through their works to manifest God to the world.  In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul recounts his service to God even under strong persecution and duress.  He tells those who dispute his authority over them his qualifications to be God’s servant to them.  I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.  (2 Corinthians 11:23 NLT)  He goes on and tells them how many times he has been beaten by rods, stoned, and so on.  He tells them I will boast in these things for I am not living for this world anymore.  I have died on the cross.  I am now alive only to Christ and his desires for me.  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20 KJV)  And because of his complete dedication to God, his ears to the Spirit were open.  Jesus said those who have ears let them hear the words of the Lord.  Paul heard the words of the Lord; he was directed by God to do what he did in the flesh, he was given marvelous and deep revelations of God’s purpose for mankind, and he also was taken up into heaven.  I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord.  I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago.  Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows.  Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body.  But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.  (Galatians 12:1-4, NLT)   Because of the cross, Paul died there, but he became alive in God, living no longer for the purposes of the flesh, but for the purpose of God.  He became a fisher of men, winning souls for the kingdom of God.  He boasted in his weaknesses and trials to further the message of Christ alone, the Redeemer of mankind.  Paul said, I will show you my faith in the cross by my works, yet he continually pointed to the cross of Christ.

James also writes to the church about faith.  As with Paul he knew abiding faith in Jesus would crop up in a person’s life expressing good works.  A changed person exhibits the fruit of the Spirit.  A person alive to God will treat people with kindness and justice.  However, James realized that some Christians in the church were preferring one group of people over others: the rich over the poor.  Deference, respect, was given to the rich but not to the poor.  My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?  (James 2:1)   Preference of one group over another is an indication that faith in Jesus Christ has not taken root in a person’s life.  Faith in Jesus Christ should be more that just a strong belief: it should change how one views other people.  Love for all people should be an integral part of a Christian’s life.  Jesus told the disciples to go into the world, put their belief in him into action.  Faith in action is revealed clearly in the Bible in many places.  In jail, the angel told Peter to get up, put on his sandals and cloak, for he was free.  Jesus told the blind man to wash the mud off in the pool of Siloam.  Peter and the blind man showed their faith by their actions.  The father of faith, Abraham, was a man of action.  James reminds the church of Abraham’s life of faith.  Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?   You see, his faith and his actions worked together.  His actions made his faith complete.  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  He was even called the friend of God.  So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.  (James 2:21-24)  James concludes, As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  Paul tells the Galatians that their faith is of no avail if they place circumcision as a necessity for knowing Christ and his redemptive power.  Faith alone in Christ’s work on the cross empowers believers to be new creatures.  However, as  Paul reveals through his testimony of his life, real faith will cause a person to manifest God in this world.  Preferences, bigotry, judgment, silence will win no one to Christ.  Such weaknesses merely indicate you did not die on the cross and the Spirit of Christ is not active in you.  Man was made out of dust.  When we demonstrate the evil of the world, we are but dust, without the life-giving Spirit of God in us.  Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.  (Genesis 2:7)  Everything made out of dust will disappear on the day of judgment.  But we, breakfast companions, are those who have faith in Jesus Christ alone and demonstrate our faith daily, knowing we are eternal living beings because He has breathed new life into us that will never end.  Enjoy that breath of life today as you spread the Good News.     

Galatians 6:7-10 Listen and Live!

Galatians 6:7-10  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

In the above scriptures we see the law of sowing and reaping.  We who are IN CHRIST sow the nature of God to the world.  We sow his goodness, grace, and mercy to a sinful world.  In Genesis, before the flood, we see God describe man as wicked: every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  (Genesis 6:5)  After the judgment of the flood on mankind, God’s assessment of Noah’s progeny is the same: every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  (Genesis 8:21)  However, God’s grace and mercy toward people made in his image would be everlasting, enduring forever.  Later, we see God coming in the form of a human to people whose ancestors were not worshiping him, but idols.  But the eternal Creator is faithful to his creation.  He comes to Abraham and promises great things for Abraham and his progeny.  Abraham believed this man that came out of nowhere. Therefore, God considered Abraham as righteous, for Abraham chose to believe God’s words rather than his own fleshly understanding.  As Jesus said many years later, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God  (Matthew 4:4)  Abraham chose to believe God rather than what he perceived in his flesh and Sarah’s flesh.  Even though Sarah was beyond child bearing age, she became with child and birthed Isaac, a chosen seed.  Through Issac’s loins THE SEED from God’s domain would come to earth.  This is the beginning of God’s mysterious plan to redeem mankind from his rebellious nature to receive God's authority.  Even though sin had corrupted people completely, God’s enduring love would implement a salvation plan that would change men and women into children of God.  Then God provides greatly for Abraham’s descendants, delivering them from captivity in Egypt, placing his hand on them as they ventured to a new land God had promised them.  This land had crops and vineyards planted, homes built, cities established with walls surrounding them.  Canaan was a mature land, but it was to be occupied by the Jewish people.  God blessed them greatly with Canaan; the Jewish population grew and they became prosperous, more than the countries around them.  However, the evil of all of mankind was embedded in them too.  They never left their devotion to other gods.  They carried their idols through the wilderness in their satchels; then they built shrines and idols to their gods in Canaan.  Their rebellion against God was so strong that finally God judged them by dispersing them throughout the nations around them.  Many of the Jews were killed by invading armies, and many of them became slaves in foreign countries. The Children of Israel who were treated so generously by God were an example of the waywardness of mankind.  They should have served God happily and faithfully, but they were like the canary placed in a mine full of poisonous gas.  Regardless of how good God treated them, they died first, scattered throughout the world facing great persecution in foreign lands. Their judgment reveals how poisonous the human soul and its environment is against God.  Even when God would separate a small group of people and call them his own, even when He would treat them well, above other nations, revealing his great love for them, they could not hold faithful to his laws and regulations.  As a pampered canary placed in a mine of poisonous gas, they would reveal clearly that the environment of sin in the world is deadly.  Even when God shows himself clearly to a people, sin reigns in the hearts of men and women.  How then can evil, sin, and death sow light, goodness, and love?

The Seed of Abraham, God’s promise of redemption, comes to the world in the form of Jesus Christ.  He is conceived by the Spirit in Mary’s body.  Jesus, the child, comes to a wicked, rebellious world.  He was sent first to the chosen, the people who were supposedly the followers of light, expressed in the law and its regulations given to them on Mount Sinai.  The Jews should have accepted him readily and gladly.  However, they rejected him completely, yelling over and over for Pilate to crucify him.  As the Mount of Transfiguration revealed so clearly to Peter, James, and John, that Jesus was the Son of God, the resurrection manifested the same truth: Jesus the Christ is God’s Son.  The resurrection ushered in a new beginning for all of mankind.  After Jesus ascends to heaven, He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of men.  Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  (John 16:7-11)   Sin is no longer merely a matter of right or wrong, it is a matter of believing in the One God sent to restore mankind to himself.  The heart is to be changed even though the mind as Paul describes wrestles with right and wrong.  We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.  (Romans 7:14-20)  Even though the mind wrestles with the good and bad in this world, there is no longer condemnation to those who have accepted the work of Christ in their hearts.  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!  (Galatians 2:19-21)  Sin is completely categorized in not believing in the Christ who God sent for redemption.  Without propitiation for our waywardness, God's remembrance of our sinful lives would always be with him, causing us to face eternal separation from him.  But God’s enduring love for mankind comes through Jesus Christ and his work on the cross.  He reveals his faithfulness to his creation by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within the hearts of the redeemed.  Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the essence of a changed heart that Christ has redeemed.  (Galatians 5:22-23) 

A man reaps what he sows.  Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  As Christians we have been set free from the captivity of the world.  We no longer are enslaved with the evil intentions of the heart.  God has cleansed us; therefore, his attributes in the form of the Spirit have come to us.  We can sow the fruit of the Spirit to others in our lives freely or we can restrict the Spirit’s goodness and love by determining when we want to sow God’s likeness.  When we do that, we are sowing to the flesh, the unredeemed nature of sinful man.  When we allow our fleshly minds to act out their evil desires, we will display unrighteousness, sowing impurity such as hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.  (Galatians 5:20-21)  However, God will not be mocked; He knows when we are sowing disruptive words and actions.  We will reap judgment if we continue in this kind of behavior.  How then should we live?  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!  (Galatians 2:19-21)  We live by faith in the Son of God; we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  We do not live by the law, for it is dead to us.  We live by the word of God.  We claim God's righteousness, not our own.  We claim his victory over the struggles of the mind.  We reckon every wayward thought and action we have to be dead in Christ for they do not control our destiny or our purity IN CHRIST.  The door of righteousness has been opened to us; the curtain between a holy God and a sinful world has been torn in two.  We can enter into the sanctum of God where He dwells.  As Isaiah said, God is beckoning us to be with him in his dwelling place,  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.  Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.  (Isaiah 55:1-3)  We no longer live like those who bleed out by doing the sinful things of this world.  We are the redeemed who have placed our hope of life eternal IN CHRIST.  We are different; our eyes, our continuance, our walk is different from the world, for we express life, not death.  Therefore, breakfast companions, heed the words of the Lord at all times.  Fight the temptations of the world, not with good or bad, but with the power of every word coming from the mouth of God.  Read your scriptures--meditate on them day and night.  God’s law of love, his care for the sick, the dying, the hurting, the captive, the disobedient, should be a primary focus in your life.  God’s hands are reaching out to people through you.  Be the ambassador of God’s kingdom by sowing the fruit of the Spirit to a dying world.  You will not be disappointed if you sow to please the Spirit.    

Galatians 6:1-6 Share Good Things!

Galatians 6:1-6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.  But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.  Each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.  Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

Sin and worldly pursuits are part of life.  Temptations to do wrong are ever present with humans.  Jesus said, Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.  (Matthew 18:7)  Paul is telling the Galatians that some will fall into sinful activity, but if they do, the brothers and sisters IN CHRIST should help restore them to a wholesome and righteous life.  If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.  Christians should help wayward people to find their way out of darkness in a tender and patient manner, not with hurtful, destructive, and accusative words, castigating them for their sinful lives.  The kindness of the Lord leads to repentance, not severe and harsh treatment or unkind gossip that does nothing profitable. The structure of the world and its obstinacy to God’s nature of goodness and love will always tempt Christians to do things that are not right, not holy or wholesome. Jesus rightly said, the world tempts people to sin.  (Matthew 18:7)  As Peter observed, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)  He knew Satan wanted to damage Christian's relationships with God.  When people fall into inveterate sin, the devil will attack their salvation experience, claiming the new life within them is but a facade, a made-up fantasy that they want to believe.  Therefore, when a Christian is known to be struggling with sin and even doubts about the reality of his or her salvation, other Christians of goodwill should come to that person and encourage the discouraged one to follow Christ and not the fleshly will.  Sadly, the world and its structure often rewards evil behavior and deeds, allowing the sinful and fleshly to get ahead.  At the same time, they overlook people with integrity who are honest in their dealings with others.  Sin can be attractive and deceiving and distract people from what is good.  That is why Paul wrote, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  (Philippians 4:8 KJV)  Paul warns the Galatians not to fall into the sinful behavior of the person they are trying to restore to a more healthy Christian life.  Do not be deceived, no matter how much success a sinful person claims in winning the world and its enjoyments--do not fall into his wayward behavior; watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.  

Winning the world and its allures or being important in the eyes of people are very fleshly temptations.  The disciples struggled with the idea of being important, to be one up on others.  At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.  (Matthew 18:1-5)  James and John desired to sit on either side of Jesus in heaven.  Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.  (Mark 10:37)  Such self-grandizement is hard to realize in the most selfish of men, but here we have this fleshly spirit in two very faithful, dedicated disciples of Jesus saying such self-willed words.  This temptation of desiring to be somebody of importance is in all people, men and women.  This will of the flesh leads many people to lie to others, to cheat and manipulate others for selfish reasons.  When Jesus addresses the disciples in the above scene about the greatest in the kingdom, He calls a little person before him, maybe a little girl.  He places the child among them.  Of course, they were around Jesus as adults thinking they were important enough to interact with him in a direct, comfortable way.  The child was not important to their way of thinking, not deserving Jesus’ attention.  In our day, these people probably would be of those who thought of themselves as being super important, worthy to be near Jesus, maybe titans of business, popular politicians, intellectual geniuses.  Of course in the scene mentioned, we know these men are Jesus’ disciples, those who were helping him in his ministry, worthy to be in his entourage.  But Jesus looks beyond them and calls this little child to him.  The child might have had to weave her way through this tight circle of legs surrounding the Messiah.  Jesus startles his disciples by saying, Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.   You MUST CHANGE and be as this little child who is in a lowly position, insignificant, unnoticed by anyone of importance in this world if you want to be IN THE KINGDOM, let alone being important in the kingdom.  Probably after hearing that comment, the temptation of their flesh to be greater than others was dealt a fatal blow.  To be considered lowly by the world, even a servant of all, was not an attractive role to the flesh.  As Paul says to the Galatians, we should stay in our own lane, living for God in our position in life, not attempting to have a one-up on others which leads to sin.  If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.  Each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.  Life should be full of contentment in your own place of living, your own status, position in life.  Paul instructed his spiritual son,Timothy, But godliness with contentment is great gain.  (1 Timothy 6:6 KJV)

Life is difficult and temptations are constant in this world, but God has the answer for a positive, fulfilling life.  Trials and struggles will happen in lives.  Sin will always be at the gate, tempting us to do wrong.  When Christians fail they often open the door to sin.  People need to be ready to restore the weak one back to spiritual good health.  As part of the Christian church, we are to help each other maintain a consistent and worthy life IN CHRIST.  We are to remind our weaker brother or sister that God has made them right with him through Jesus Christ their Lord and his sacrifice at the cross.  We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.  And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  (Romans 3:22, NLT)  Repenting of sin is important; however, righteousness can never be achieved through our own efforts, no matter how strong our wills are.  As with all Christians, the Bible instructs us to confess our faults one to another.  We are to be realistic in our fleshly lives.  Temptation is always with us and sometimes we yield to that which is not good for us.  We might do the opposite of what the Holy Spirit desires for us, the opposite of godliness and the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  But our holiness is God’s work, not ours.  When we fail and reveal not his wonderful attributes, but the fleshly attributes of the sinful flesh, our hearts are still right with God because of our faith in Jesus Christ and his work, not ours.  As people of God, we repent of our nature, but we know by faith in Jesus’ work that we have a changed heart.  Our basic desire is to seek the praises of God, not the praises of people.  And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. (Romans 2:29, NLT)  In today’s focus Paul tells us to restore people who have fallen into a rut of sin, to fulfill the law of Christ by loving others as you would want to be loved.  Jesus reveals to us when He heals the man who was blind from birth by placing spittle on his eyes, that the power of God is great.  God changes that which has never been such as sight to the blind: from eternal blindness to forever sight.  We were once lost, unable to please God, destined for finiteness, but because of the work of Christ, we are found with eternity within our souls.  Therefore, breakfast companions, seek God with all your mind, soul, and strength.  Help others to seek him likewise; restore the lost, let the weak be found in the eternal light of God and his Son.  As you love God with all your heart and you love your neighbor as yourself, you will learn to keep in step with the Spirit.  You will put to use the instruction of the Lord!