Can You See The Real Me?

Ephesians 4:17 – 22 

The Old You and the New You (Part 1)

The Apostle Paul is writing to the Ephesians to remind them that they who were once dead in their sins and trespasses are now made alive in Christ.  They have been brought near to and at peace with God by the blood of Jesus Christ. Since this is the case he reminds the Ephesians of what the new life or new you does not look like.

Vs 17, 18:  "You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do…" Paul is referring to the former ways of life. To make this statement a little more relevant now one author suggests that if we could change the word “Gentiles” to “Americans or some other relevant label we would have little difficulty bringing verses 17 – 19 into our contemporary situation, for they are like a mirror.” Paul reminds the Ephesian believers that they are not to walk in their previous depraved state. Humanity is desperately wicked, walking in futility and in need of a savior. The word futility can also be translated as vanity or meaningless. In our depraved state we are futile in every area of our lives and we are alienated from God. We did not acknowledge him nor have any regard for him in our minds or heart. Actually our hearts were hardened to him. I have made some of the previous posts.

Vs 19:  The sinful and depraved person is hard and callous towards God and he has not given himself up to God; instead he lives by his sensuality and impurities. This describes most of unredeemed humanity pretty much in a nutshell. People of the world live for the pleasures of the flesh and the pleasures of the world. Sensuality has become their god. They have completely submitted themselves to their own lusts and pleasures. This unfortunately has become the American way. If it feels good, do it. Don’t put parameters on me, I am free to live as I choose and you cannot tell me how to live. I will pursue happiness (or what I think is happiness) at any cost regardless of who I hurt in the process.

Paul writes that the depraved futile person is greedy to live a full life of impurity of every kind. There is no regard for right or wrong. There is no room for rules and regulations. Pursuing purity is pointless. Sin has become the god of the depraved person’s life.

Vs 20, 21:  We now encounter the third “but” statement. “But that is not how you learned Christ…” In more contemporary terms Paul is saying, “Since you are now a follower of Jesus you are no longer supposed to live this way.” If you were truly taught the proper ways in Jesus these old ways of living are no longer part of your life. You once walked in the ways of meaningless self indulgence but now you walk in the truth of Jesus Christ. The sad truth is that there are hundreds of thousands of people who profess Jesus as their Lord and yet continue to walk in their lustful, depraved and futile lives.  

Vs 22:  We are to “Put off the old self…” You can think of the old life like an onion and believers are to peel or take off the old self (sinful depraved self). The way we used to live is no longer the way we live today. We are to shed ourselves of the former ways of life. The sinful life we were enslaved to as depraved sinners is to be discarded and thrown away like an old pair of smelly shoes. Why are we to take off the old ways of living? Because our old ways are not the ways of God; they are the ways of a godless world we were once subject to and loved so dearly. The old life does not belong to God it belongs to world or the old self which is vain, deceiving and corrupt.

Closer to Me

Ephesians 2:12 - 14

Have you have ever felt distant from God? Have you ever thought or maybe even said, “I feel dry and disconnected from God. I wish I could have the enthusiasm I used to have when I first became a follower of Jesus.”? I have talked to numerous people in the 20 plus years that I have been a follower of Jesus and not surprisingly many people have said they have felt this way at least one time or another in their life. I know I have. Maybe you are there now. Maybe your relationship to God feels like you are just going through the motions and it seems like a lifeless routine that you are in and even struggling to keep. I think this is a common occurrence in the Body of Christ. We all have “dry spells” or “dark nights of the soul”, if you haven’t ever had one you will.

CLOSE TO GOD

Vs 12:  "Remember…" Paul tells the reader to remember or reflect on the truth that at one time we were all separated from Christ. I challenged you in a previous post to take some time and think about your life before you became a follower of Jesus Christ. What was your life like? More than likely you lived your life for yourself with very few concerns for others and certainly not a care for God. Before you became a follower of Jesus you were on a whole other plain of life. God was unreachable and distant. Actually He was not even on your radar. This put you at odds with Him and you had neither claim to nor promise of the covenants of God. Isaiah 59:2 reminds us, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Ultimately you were without hope because you were not alive in Christ; you were dead in your sins. Life without God was miserable and hopeless. There was hostility between you and God. You were here on one side and God was on the other and there was a dark chasm between the two of you.  There was no peace whatsoever.

Vs 13:  "But now…" Once again we encounter another big "but" of the Bible. Since you are now fully alive in Jesus Christ… This very moment. Today. Now. You have been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. You know that the blood of Jesus is a cleansing blood but it is also a drawing blood. Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ you are now close to God. The dark chasm that existed between you and God has now been joined together by the cross (or shed blood of Jesus Christ). There is now no separation between you and God. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No longer do we get what we deserve.

Vs 14: Since this is the case you now have peace with God and Jesus is your peacemaker. Romans 5:9, 10 says, “ Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?” Because of Jesus Christ and his shed blood the war between you and God is over. You are now one in Christ and the wall of hostility that separated us from God has been torn down.

 Unfortunately for many of us we stray from God or we allow our relationship to grow distant. Author and former Pastor John Piper writes, “(God wants us to) get near (to Him), that we have fellowship with Him, that we not settle for a Christian life at a distance from God, that God would not be a distant thought, but a near and present reality. You can do it while standing absolutely still, or while lying in a hospital bed, or while sitting in a pew listening to a sermon.” He goes on and writes, “Drawing near is not a physical act. It‘s not necessarily going to a Church building. Or walking to an altar at the front. It’s an invisible act of the heart.” R. Kent Hughes, Pastor of College Church in Wheaton, IL writes, “(how does one draw near to God? In a word, prayer. The essence of prayer is the heart drawing near to God. Prayer is the soul’s desire to come to Him, to receive His love, to feel His power as we conform to His will.”

The reality is God is not distant, unreachable and unknowable. He is here today and He is close to you and this is true because of Jesus Christ. He is active and alive in the believer’s life. He didn’t set the wheel in motion and let things happen the way they happen. He is alive and active in our midst at this moment. He wants you to draw near to Him.

My challenge to you today is draw near to God. He is reaching out to commune with you and wants to be present in your life. It’s never too late to begin and God will never turn a deaf ear to you. If you’re unsure how you can start, I will give you a suggestion; begin by telling God about it. He will hear you and He will help you draw near to Him. Prayer should be the essential part of our Christian lives and is the life line and foundation of the Church. There is power in prayer, God can communicate with you, you can with Him, you just need to be willing to do it.

Grace Makes Beauty Out of Ugly Things

Ephesians 2:8 - 10

Vs. 8 - 10: Paul reminds us why God does what he does by giving life to the spiritually dead. It is true

He has an abundance of mercy however the reason why we even have the opportunity to have life is simply a matter of grace or God’s unmerited favor shown to undeserving mankind; his grace.  It is by God's grace that you have life. you and I did not deserve redemption or salvation, we deserve hell. We deserve death. We do not deserve anything good. Because of God’s unmerited favor shown to those who believe (Put their faith in Jesus Christ) you and I do not receive hell and death. God provided a way to eternal life and redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is THE gift from God. We receive life by grace through faith. (Heb. 11:1). 

We do well when we realize that our salvation is not based upon our works. If you think you are getting on God’s “nice list” by attending church, giving an offering and enduring through painfully long sermons then you are gravely mistaken. We receive eternal life based upon what Christ did for us (His works through grace).

When we are called by God it was because He first loved us, not vice versa. Our response to Him is based upon our conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit who awakens us and calls us to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. God calls us to receive His gift of Grace, Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately not all do respond to Him in the way He so desires.

Salvation is a gift from God by grace (unmerited favor) through faith (an uncompromised belief that Jesus is Lord of all and completely trusting in Him in all ways). If salvation was based upon our works that would leave room to boast, thus taking away the glory of God and His gift of grace, in turn making man prideful and arrogant. If we could be saved by our works then the cross of Christ would have been for no reason. Good works are important, as a believer; for the Bible tells us that our good works are the fruit or evidence of our relationship with Christ. But our works will not save us and make us righteous before God. Only by faith in Jesus Christ which is by grace can we then be in right with Him.

Are you fully alive in Christ?  God’s grace, love and mercy is so great that He has given us (who believe in faith) life instead of death. Through Jesus Christ we now have a new life, a life where we are fully alive, thriving and in need of nothing because the Spirit of God dwells in each of us. The old ways; the sinful, dark ungodly ways are gone and we no longer have to live in the murky waters of the world. We now live in the fresh waters of Jesus Christ; victorious over sin, darkness and evil and thriving in the Kingdom of God and sharing the Good News that Jesus has come and His Kingdom has come. Life will try and beat you down but take comfort and security in the understanding that nothing that comes your way can defeat you or hold you down in this life or the life to come because Jesus has defeated death and sin.

Wake up Dead!

Ephesians 2: 1 - 7

Vs. 1: Everyone of us is born into sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Thus we are all sinners and the wages or penalty we must pay for sin is death (Romans 6:23). If the wages of sin is death, and we are all born sinful then the natural conclusion is... we are all dead. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1. We are dead in our sins and trespasses. Before you or I came to saving faith in Jesus Christ we "walked" in the deadness of our sins, oblivious to our wicked ways. We were in fact mindless dead people walking.

Vs 2 - 3: Before we responded to Jesus' call in our lives we were subject to and walked in the ways of the world. We were in bondage to sin, the world system and we followed the ways of the Prince of the Powers of the air…Satan. Think about that for a moment… (Reflect back on your life before you became a follower of Jesus).  As I think back on my life I remember how I once lived only for myself and my selfish desires. I had no cares about the ways of neither God nor his people. I had no moral boundaries, I had no sense of right or wrong; I only did what I felt was right in my own eyes and did that which brought pleasure to me. Yes, I was essentially dead in my sins. We are reminded here that we ALL once lived according to this way or maybe some of you are still living according to the flesh (which is not living at all).

Vs 4 - 7: If our life story in verse three it would be a sad and hopeless story indeed. There would be no “and he/she lived happily ever after”. Our story would be without purpose. If there is no hope then there is no purpose. However in verses 4 and 5 we encounter one of many big “Buts” found in the Bible. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together in Christ.” This is where the story changes for those of us who believe.

Think about this also.... God has an abundance of mercy (not getting what you deserve) because of his love (through Jesus Christ) he has MADE US ALIVE. We who were once dead now have life. God brought to life with Christ’ or ‘he caused us to live again together with Christ’[1]. We are made alive because of Jesus. However we aren’t just given life we are also, “Raised up with him AND seated us with him in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ.” As if being made alive wasn’t enough; God has taken us from death brought us to life and lifted us up and seated us with Christ. We are not just alive we are FULLY ALIVE and this is what I aim to talk about in the next few blogs. When we are fully alive in Christ it affects every aspect of our lives. It changes our relationship with God, who we are as humans, how we live our lives, our marriages and our families.

Did God have to do this? Did He have to give us life? No! He does this simply because he loves us so much that He provided a way to have life through Jesus. This is a display of His abundance in mercy.

Think even more about this; when all of us were dead in our sins without Christ did not change the fact that God in his abundant mercy still gave His life for us. God’s love for us is never ending, Jesus didn’t die on the cross based upon what our response would be to Him, He did it so all humanity could have the opportunity to be fully alive.

[1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (262). New York: United Bible Societies.

Can I Have Some Remedy?

(Read James 4:4 - 10)

The Problem: Spiritual Adultery

“You adulterous people!” Some versions say, “Adulteresses!” These are strong words used by James and they have deep implications to the body of Christ. In his letter up to this point he has referred to his readers with affection by calling them “brothers” and “my dear brothers”. His tone changes in this verse as he speaks harshly to them because of the warring and fighting with each other.  Since this is happening they are in fact acting like the rest of the godless world and this is not God's will for the body of Christ. Christians and the Church in particular are called to be unique in our love for one another. However the Church James writes to are embracing the world’s ways (It’s about me and I don’t care what you think) and not God’s (putting others first, forgiveness, peace, and serving).  In doing this they are ultimately committing spiritual adultery with the world. Spiritual adultery always begins with believers having an affair with the world and its ways and ends with individuals becoming enemies of God. When believers start living as the world lives we show where our allegiance truly lies (the world) and God will not share our allegiance with the world.

The Solution: Submit, Resist & Draw Near

God is always willing to give grace to those who humble themselves before him but He is an opponent of pride and self dependency.  James exhorts his listeners to first submit to God. Repentance is what James is calling this beloved congregation to and really what God desires. Submission is the first act of repentance and acknowledge that we are truly dependent on Jesus. The act of submission is one where a person resigns himself to or put into subjection or yielded to someone. As believers we do well in accepting and believing that we are not in control, God is. The sooner we are able to submit ourselves fully to God the sooner we will see that when we do we begin the process of getting on the right track.  Submission is probably one of the most difficult things for many of us because we are giving control of our lives over to someone else (in this case God) and as humans we like to feel like we are in control (even when we know we are not).  

Secondly, we are to resist the devil and he will flee. This can only be done in the power of the Spirit (being completely protected in the armor of God) in complete submission to God. Resistance is key and ongoing (This is part of the daily battle we fight).

Lastly, we are to draw near to God. Godliness is not attained by association. Hanging around godly people does not make one godly. It may give the false appearance of godliness but this doesn’t matter. Once we have submitted to God by putting on the armor God and giving the Spirit dominion over our lives so we can resist sin, desire and temptation daily; we are then able to draw near to God and in so doing He will draw near to us. 

Conclusion

Personal conflict, church fights, splits and disunity happen. It has happened since the beginning of time. Unfortunately it will continue. However we have the key to how to avoid unhealthy conflict in our lives and churches. It is important for us as individuals to seek unity in Christ together, to not be divisive or hurtful with our words and actions, slanderous in our talk and hypocritical in our worship. We should not seek friendship with the world.  We need to be single-minded in our devotion to God. We must submit to God and his will (not our selfish desires), be Spirit-driven so we can resist the devil in his attacks, and draw near to God in our time of worship and in our own private times with Him.  May we be before the Great and Mighty King as we know our place before him and in so doing He will lift us up.

Fight From the Inside

Read James 4:1 – 6 

The Nature of Conflict: It’s Personal 

In the past few blogs have established the fact that there is a war going on (and it is a Spiritual battle) and I wrote about how we are to be protected from the spiritual attacks of the enemy. As we continue forward I want to talk about an often overlooked aspect of Spiritual warfare which is when the battle turns from fighting the battle of good and evil, against the dark spiritual powers to believers in Christ fighting one another. 

According to Ted Kober, President of Ambassadors of Reconciliation, “Conflict may be defined as ‘a difference in opinion or purpose that frustrates someone's goals or desires.’ These differences can range from simple disagreements such as where to go to dinner to more serious controversies that lead to divorce, lawsuit, or someone leaving a profession.”

Would you believe me if I told you that often times (if not most of the time) conflict among believers and/or Churches is the main source of Spiritual Battle? Satan is never happier than when God’s beloved children are battling one another. The real question lies in what is the source of our personal conflict? Since we are children of God who are saved grace why is it that we fight so often? There is a saying, “Where two or more are gathered there will eventually be conflict.” According to author Ken Sande, “Conflict affects our marriages, families, churches, neighborhoods and workplaces. It affects Christians and non-Christians alike, bringing us low, damaging our relationships, and tarnishing our witness to the world.”[1] Is this what God wants for his people? I can boldly answer that question with an emphatic, “NO!”

“Where do quarrels and fights among you come from?” The answer, “It comes from selfish desires that are at war in us.” When we look at any unhealthy disunity or conflict in our lives it is almost always a guarantee that the root of the problem is selfish desire. We see this in the modern church. There are conflicts or fights over the style of music that is played for the time of worship, communion, baptism, theology, placement of furniture in the building, our core purpose, jealousy, bitterness, anger and they are all rooted in selfish desire. Douglas Moo writes, “The seventeenth century Jewish philosopher Spinoza observed: ‘I have often wondered that persons make boast of professing the Christian religion – namely love, joy, peace, temperance, and charity to all men – should quarrel with such rancorous animosity and display daily towards one another such bitter hatred, that this, rather than the virtues which they profess, is the readiest criteria of their faith.’ Some battles to be sure, need to be fought. But even they must be fought without sacrificing Christian principles and virtues.”[2] In the second verse James expands on the nature of these sinful desires and he uses some strong language to describe their actions like envy, kill, and covet. Now it is uncertain as to whether these people were actually killing one another out of selfish desire (which isn’t entirely improbable) but we can safely assume that he is using an analogy like Jesus as he described a person as a murderer as one who harbors hatred in his/her heart. A person who holds animosity in his heart towards another is just as guilty as the person who actually commits murder. This is probably what James is suggesting.

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[1] Biblical Peacemaking: Applying the Gospel to Conflicts of Daily Life (Peacemakers Ministries 2011), www.peacemaker.net

[2] Moo, p. 181

The Armored Saint

Read Ephesians 6:10 - 20

The Armor

(Weapons of Defense)

The Belt of Truth: The belt or girt in Roman armor (which is probably the style of armor Paul is using for the example) was a vital piece. It was usually a 6-8” leather belt that every piece of armor was attached to and was used to tie loose flowing garments. Without the belt nothing would be secured and the armor would eventually fall off or be a hindrance to the soldier. It was a foundational piece of the armor. The truth is foundational to the believer.  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the father except through me.” Jesus is the belt that holds everything together. Spiritual victory is hinged to the truth of Jesus and the Gospel. We are in a vigorous battle and God wants us tie up our garments and connect all of our armor to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow this truth be the foundation of who we are.


The Breastplate of Righteousness: The breastplate was a bronze shield that was strapped over the chest to cover the heart.  The heart is an essential organ in human body. Righteousness simply means being right with God. In Jesus we are made righteous. We are not righteous in our own accord. In fact humans at the core are evil and at odds with God. When we submit ourselves fully to God (As Romans 12:1, 2 tells us) we become righteous in the eyes of God. Since we are made right with God He will protect our hearts. He will provide life, he will keep safe from the attacks of the heart. If the heart stops pumping, then life ends. J. Vernon McGee writes, “Christ is the righteousness of the believer…Only the righteousness of Christ can enable a believer to stand before God.” And I would add, “And to stand against the attacks of Satan.”

Shoes of the Gospel of peace: The Gospel of peace is exactly what it says it is; the good news of peace. The word Gospel literally means “good news”. The footwear represents readiness and preparation and the feet represent agility and endurance. As believers engaged in warfare we must always be prepared to share and stand firm in the Gospel. Most importantly we must be willing to live it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of salvation.

Shield of Faith: The shield Paul has in mind is one that is made up of three layers of wood and covered in leather that was fully soaked in water. According to D.A. Carson, “In battle (the shields) could be locked together with others to form a wall in front, and a roof overhead.” They provided a source of security and protection against the arrows and spears hurled at them. Like a shield, faith in Christ is what protects us from the fiery arrows and spears of the evil one. These arrows or darts that are hurled could be things like evil desires, guilt, doubt, anger, lust, fear, criticism, worthlessness, depression, and anything else that would cause one to take his eyes off God. The faith Paul is talking about in this passage does not refer to what one would call general belief or faith, but instead the saving faith in Jesus. This faith is what gives the believer security in his relationship with Jesus. Another one of Satan’s tactics is to cause insecurity in the believer, he says, “Oh you did this? Well, God’s not going to accept you anymore. You did that? Well, God’s through with you, He doesn’t love you anymore.” Your faith in Christ will protect you from these fiery darts that Satan will shoot at you daily!

The Helmet of Salvation: The purpose of a helmet is to protect the head. God’s salvation is our greatest source of protection. The continual reminder that those who have repented of their sins, responded to the calling of God to become one with Jesus.  A completely submitted and obedient life to Jesus Christ is the believer's true source of victory. If you do not have Jesus as your personal savior, then this battle cannot be won.

(Weapons of Offense)

The Sword of the Spirit: The sword is the Word of God (which verse 17 reminds us). Christ is the fulfillment of the Word of God. (I John 1:1) The Word of God is powerful! Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. This weapon is not only used as a means of defense but also is used to attack. The Word of God is powerful, when Jesus was tempted in the desert he used to Word of God to fend off the devil and it was sufficient. We must cling to the Word of God; we must know it and love it, for in it is power.

Pray in the Spirit: This last weapon is sometimes overlooked as an actual weapon. Klyne Snodgrass says, “The well-armed soldier in Christ’s army, by definition, is continually praying in the Spirit and alert.” Praying in the Spirit strengthens you. When you pray in the Spirit you communicate with God and He communes with you.