Ephesians 3:14-21

Father, now we bow to You
With hearts seeking Your wisdom.
We bear Your name, we share in grace
O God, be now our vision.

The riches of Your glory 
Far surpass all that we show;
Jesus, strengthen us, that by 
Your Spirit we may know

The breadth and length and height and depth
Of Your unending love;
The fullness of the Lord on high
In majesty above;

The grace of Christ, who dwells in us,
In hearts redeemed in faith;
The Father's mercy, covering us
And all because of grace.

Father, now we bow to You.
To You we offer praise.
You can do more abundantly 
Than all our thoughts can raise.

May all our generations give 
To You what You deserve;
All glory, praise, and honour, Lord
According to Your word. 

Believers: according to Philippians - part one

When reading through Scripture, you can find many different titles for believers. The term, "Christian" only shows up a few times, yet believers are referenced quite often, especially in the New Testament. Reading through Philippians I came across many different titles given among believers. Some are specific titles, such as "servants", used in Paul's introduction, as well as the titles of overseer and deacon. However, I think we can expand upon these titles in general. 

According to Philippians, we are

Servants

As I said, Paul uses this in his introduction: 

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, (Philippians 1:1)

However, this is not exclusive to Paul. John, Peter, Jude and James all refer to themselves in the same way. In light of that, I think it is appropriate that we follow their example in proclaiming our servanthood to Christ. I am a servant of Christ. What does this mean? This means my life is not my own. I have been bought with the price of Christ's precious blood. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. My whole life is lived in devotion to Christ, or that at least is what I strive to do. I want to live my life according to Christ's will and by His word. I want to grow in love for God as well as for those whom He has created, glorifying God through selfless ministry. I want Christ to live through me. In light of that, I am His servant. 

Saints

Again from verse one:

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: (Philippians 1:1)

Believers are often referred to as saints in the New Testament. This is a declaration of our state in Christ: by His sacrifice, by His substitution, by His atonement and redemption, we have been pronounced pure and blameless, without blemish. We have been clothed in Christ's righteousness. We have been given new life in Christ Jesus. We are saints - set apart, holy unto the Lord. This one is difficult to understand, because it is wrapped up in the mystery of salvation. Yet we can know that this is how God sees us. He sees us through Christ, perfect, blameless, holy, redeemed. To be declared a saint is a glorious concept, and it is the reality for believers. 

Overseers and Deacons

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: (Philippians 1:1)

This does not refer to all believers, but to a specific group of men who are set apart within the believing community. These are elders, those who "supervise" the flock of God, who check the gospel pulse of the church. They keep watch, guarding against apostasy, guarding against the onslaught of the devil. They provide personal protection and care for believers. Deacons "kick up the dust" in ministry, serving the church in more practical, day-to-day-serving ways. Overseers have a great responsibility, and I think it is important for believers to pray for elders and deacons in their church. However, I think every believer can watch and guard against false teaching. We can all protect and care for one another through fellowship and prayer, and we can all certainly serve one another - in fact, we are called to do that very thing in Hebrews, stirring one another up to good works (Hebrews 10:24). 

Partners

All believers share things in common. Though we can disagree, though we can have many denominations and many different interpretations of any given Bible passage, we are bound together and unified in Christ Jesus. We share a fellowship through Christ. He is the unifier. He breaks down the walls of hostility and unites all peoples.

John 21:17

Fighting sin in Bible reading

Sometimes it becomes a struggle to read my Bible with any sort of good attitude. This usually happens when I take the Bible and/or God for granted, as I occasionally if not often do. When my eyes neglect to soak up the words on the page, when my heart neglects to respond, when my mind does not remember what I've read, I know I need to check myself, my heart attitude, and wage war against my sin. In my Bible, I wrote down six things to remember:

1) Read books or passages that do not appeal to you at the moment. 

Yesterday I did not feel inclined to read 1 Corinthians. I wouldn't be able to explain why I felt apathetic to this great Scripture. God knows my heart. However, I know that in my laziness, in my non-excitement, something was wrong. Perhaps I didn't want to hear the message. Perhaps there was something I needed to hear. Perhaps I needed reminding of God's truth and character. 

2) Study what you would rather avoid - what word, verse, chapter or book challenges your view?

Sometimes you can get to a difficult passage, and instead of dealing with it, just skip over it and move on. Even some study Bibles have had very little if not nothing to say concerning some of the more controversial verses. It's easier to avoid the issue, but it is not better. Prepare your mind for seeking. 

3) Be aware of your own reactions. Seek heart change.

4) Ask God to give you wisdom in understanding and applying what you read. 

Then ask again. And again...

5) Don't come to the Bible as a theologian, ready to teach, but as a student, ready and excited to learn something new from the Teacher.

6) Don't read the Bible because you feel duty-bound. 

Read it for what it is: God's Word graciously given to you, revealing God's character and promises, but mainly opening up to you the ultimate gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Always by grace

In reading through Deuteronomy, you find that God never gave any indication to the Israelites that they could be righteous on their own. In fact He made it quite clear they were not.

The Israelites could look at any point in their history and see how rebellious, how stiff-necked, how idolatrous they were. They were not God's people because they were love-able. Rather, just like believers today, they were God's people because He sovereignly set His love upon them (Deuteronomy 7-11).

For the Israelites, keeping the Law of God as He laid it down was a stipulation of the relationship they had by His grace. Their obedience would not result in God's relationship with them; rather, their obedience was the result of the relationship! It is the same for us today. We in Christ are given commands - whether from the "one anothers" to the commands to walk in a certain way, to the putting off, to the putting on. We have commandments and instructions given to us even in the "New Testament" church. These commandments (and following them) are the result of the relationship and the love we have for our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

Because the reality is, God has revealed Himself to us. He has given us a relationship with Himself. He has done everything necessary to ensure this relationship. Now, within this relational reality lie aspects of the relationship, and God has always required certain things of those to whom He gives Himself. The things that are required of us do not save us. Neither did they save the Israelites. Salvation has always been by grace through faith, as a gift of God. God bestows His mercy and love in spite of the rebellion of His people.

Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. (Deuteronomy 9:6)

You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. (Deuteronomy 9:24)

The Israelites were plainly given the truth. They were not a special people for any reason other than that the God Who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love sovereignly set His favour upon them, for the sake of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - men whom He also loved entirely because of His own sovereign favour! 

Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. (Deuteronomy 10:15)

God has always been as He is now: merciful, gracious, ready and willing to save. He has always given Himself in the place of others. He has always redeemed a people, a remnant unworthy to be redeemed. It has always been by the grace in Christ Jesus, the promised Messiah, the Seed of the woman Who would crush the serpent's head and lead us into repentance, restoration and redemption. 

This relationship, then, carries forward into what the Lord requires of us. This is seen in many other places in Scripture, notably Micah 6:8 (among many others), but we can actually stay in Deuteronomy. From chapter seven until now there has been something of an historical lecture, a telling and retelling of Israel's history, outlining the powerful works God accomplished for their sake. Now we come to the command: 

You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.(Deuteronomy 11:1)

Remember that a "therefore" links back to what has been said, so this essentially means something like this: 

Because God has set his love on His people, not because of them, for they are rebellious and stubborn, but because of Himself, for He is gracious and merciful, therefore you should respond in love. God loves you, not for your own loveliness, but by His own grace. God has done everything for you. You are His child because He has adopted you. You are His treasure because He has treasured you. You are His workmanship because He has worked in you. It is not because of you. God has given you a clean heart, a right spirit, open eyes and ears, and most of all, Himself. In light of all this, your only response is loving Him, keeping His charge, statutes, rules, and commandments, for this is the way to deepening your relationship with the God Who loved you from eternity past because He chose to love you, not because you were worthy of His love.

All these principles, of course, culminate and come to full realization in Christ Jesus. Yet I think it is important to understand that Christ Jesus was God from eternity, so His promises and His redemptive acts existed from eternity. God has always worked by grace. 

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6)

Paul, the man who relied on Christ

It can be easy for me to forget about the weakness of Paul, because he was such a brilliant theologian, a masterful evangelist, a bold minister, a gospel-centered teacher, and a devoted leader of the church. 

Paul, though, was never hesitant about listing his own failures and weaknesses. He relied on Christ in all things. 

What brought this to mind was reading Philippians. In my personal Bible reading, I prefer to read whole books or letters of Scripture in one sitting in order to get the full message and context of what was written, as far as I am able. In Philippians, Paul wrote something that struck me as being the reality, not only of Paul, but of all believers. 

Look at the following two verses:

I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. (Philippians 2:28)

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Did you notice the word, "anxious"? Here is the striking reality: Paul did not teach, preach or write as though he were speaking from a lofty position toward lesser believers, though he could have. He did not write condescendingly as though he had a depth of insight unavailable to the Philippians - though he did. He did not instruct them from a position of closeness to Christ, giving them the sense that they were far off while he was near to the Saviour. No, he spoke as one on their level. He spoke as a believer needing the grace found in Christ, just as much as they did. 

In the first verse, Paul admits to being anxious. He was anxious for the Philippians, for they were worried. Epaphroditus, Paul's fellow minister for the gospel, had been sick, and he was distressed because the Philippians had heard it, and Paul was anxious for all parties. Epaphroditus had been ill near to death, so one can imagine that it was all-around a sorrowful, worrisome experience. 

Paul includes himself in those who are worried, yet in the second verse, he instructs them not to be anxious about anything! Do you see the mercy in this? Paul, who very likely did take his requests to God, who spent much of his life on his knees in prayer and supplication, who gave thanks to God on a regular basis, reached out to the Philippians with the comfort of knowing that he was just like them - weak, anxious, and in need of Christ. Paul doesn't say, "Do this, do not do that, and get things right, will you?" No, he says, "I fail in my weakness just as you. I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15). Let us therefore go together to the foot of the cross. Let us go together and sit at the feet of our Lord." Paul reminds them by way of his own weakness, by way of his own frailty, of the beauty of the Saviour - the Saviour that shows no partiality, the Saviour Who accepts the weak with the strong, the ignorant with the wise, the lowly with the lifted up, the poor with the rich, etc. 

Paul shows that for all his brilliance and faithfulness, just like the Philippians, he needs God. With that in mind, I'm sure Paul was also thinking of himself when he instructed them to take all their requests to God with prayer, supplication and thanksgiving. Paul reminds the Philippians, as well as us that no matter how wise, how learned, how faithful, or how bold for the gospel, the reality of our need of Jesus remains a constant. 

According to His great mercy

God's mercy is too great a topic to cover in-depth. If I wrote about God's mercy in every blog post, I could write something new every single day. Truly His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

My pastor spoke on God's faithfulness yesterday. In God's faithfulness, He is merciful. The two tie in to one another, seen from the beginning. God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."

God's faithfulness and mercy are seen in the fact that He keeps His promises. He forgives our sin (1 John 1:9). He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He preserves us (John 10:28). He has promised us Heaven and glory (Revelation 21:1ff).

He constantly repeats His promises to His people. He knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust, that we are frail, that we are weak. He remembers that we are bruised reeds.

What about us? How do we act toward one another? I definitely do not always respond in a godly way. More often than not, I am very ungodly. I do not always forgive sin. I sometimes leave and forsake. I forget the weakness of others. Am I merciful? No, not always.

I rely every day upon the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. I cannot live one day, breathe one single breath without needing His grace. According to His great mercy He has caused me to be born again. I would not, could not go so boldly to the throne room without my Saviour.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,

I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward You.

Nevertheless, I am continually with You;

You hold my right hand.

You guide me with Your counsel,

and afterward You will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is nothing

on earth that I desire besides You.

Psalm 73:21-25

Come Out!

The story of God raising Lazarus from the dead has always fascinated me. Everything about it, from Jesus' deliberate hesitation of two days' time before traveling, to the sisters' different reactions (but same faith) upon seeing Jesus, to the very call to life itself.

Jesus has all power and authority. He is the resurrection and the life, as he tells Martha, bringing forth her response, which is essentially a summary of the Gospel of John: "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Jesus is deeply moved by their response to Lazarus' death. We can take comfort from that - He is our immanent Saviour, with us in all our struggles. He knows our frame, remembers that we are dust, and sympathizes with our hurt.

The other comfort is the call. Just as Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the tomb and be raised to life, so He calls us to follow Him as Lord and Saviour. He calls us to put our faith in Him and trust His promises. He calls us to serve Him while on this earth. Can you hear Him?

Come Out!

Come out from the tomb of worry, and give your anxieties and fears to Christ. He bears our burdens, and gives us a yoke that is easy and light in exchange. He takes our worries and replaces them with hope.

Come Out!

Come out from the tomb of despair. Let the wrappings of heartbreak and sorrow fall away. Be unbound and free from the bondage of despair. Let go, and trust in Christ. Despair has no place among those whose God is the Lord. Even in the ugliest moments, the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Come out from that dark, filthy tomb and rejoice!

Come Out!

Come out from the tomb of doubt. Believe in God's promises. Believe that His Word never fails. Believe that He will do as He has said. Believe that He is with you. Repent, and believe!

Come Out!

Come out from the tomb of timidity. Stand for Christ your Saviour with boldness. Be courageous for the truth. Be courageous for the Gospel. Drop the wrappings of fear that surround your heart, mind and soul; step forward for Christ and live as a child of Light, not ashamed of the Gospel, but alive in the Gospel.

Do you hear Him?

Why Scripture is Sufficient

I am writing this out in part because of a recent discussion I read on a Christian forum, and in part because of some study I have been doing on my own lately.

If there is any wiggle room or general vagueness within Scripture, you can be sure there are at least three different interpretations of the text. You can see this with 2 Timothy 3:16, which says,

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".

Some take this to mean that Scripture is sufficient to lead us in our Christian walk. It fulfills what we need. It meets the requirements. So, in essence some might say it's a good rule or guide book for life.

I don't think that's an appropriate interpretation of the text. The focus is not necessarily on the profitability, but on the source: Scripture is God-breathed. It is the Word of God.

Scripture is profitable for one reason - because it is breathed out by God.

Something I found rather interesting was looking up the structure of the Greek words in this verse. (here) The one little word that got my attention was "and" - "kai" in the Greek. It can mean many different things:

"and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so

Apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words -- and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet."

It seems to me that the structure of the verse implies that the two ideas go together. The profitability springs from the idea of Scripture being God-breathed. One might say "All Scripture is God-breathed and therefore profitable...." Because it is from the mouth of God, it is profitable and sufficient to make a man competent for every good work (v17).

This verse is of course always tied in with 2 Peter 1:20-21, where we see Peter's reasoning:

"...knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit." (ASV)

So Scripture is God-breathed; not from men, but through men who were moved by the Holy Spirit to write and speak the words that God gave to them. All through history God has taught His people what to say; He has given them the words to speak; He has been active in the communication of His own character and glory. If Scripture were not inspired by the infallible, inerrant God of the universe, it would not be profitable. There is no spiritual benefit in following error. There is no sufficiency unless it is given by God himself.

Teaching Myself 1 Timothy 1:5

"The aim of our charge is love that issues from

a pure heart and

a good conscience and

a sincere faith."

Every so often I read something that jumps out at me in a way it never has before, even though I have read it thousands of times. This verse seemed to split itself into sections right before my eyes.

The aim of our charge is love...

Do you know how often faith, hope, and love are mentioned in the Bible? And Paul tells us the greatest of these is love. (1Corinthians 13:13) Love is expounded, commanded, explained and considered time and again from the beginning of the Old Testament through to the New.

Why?

Well, God is love (1 John 4:8), and He commands that we ought to love one another, even as He loves us. Love is from God (1 John 4:7), and so we are to love one another if we are to be like Him.

What is love?

Love is more than just a feeling. It's more than saying "I love you". It's all about action. God is love, and God reached out with sacrifice and salvation. He gave Himself up for us. We're called to love like that.

So, that's my preliminary thought on love itself. But what really stood out to me was the next part of the verse.

So, the aim of our charge is love...

1) That issues from a pure heart

In reading this, two questions popped into my head.

- How can we be pure?

- From where does purity come?

Purity is an interesting thing. To be pure means to be unsullied, undefiled, innocent. Set apart.

In Scripture we are commanded to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Doves are a symbol of innocence. They're white; spotless; unstained. So should we be.

When I think about this, though, I realize how impossible it is to have a pure heart. I do not. If anything, I have a vile, black, infected heart full of twisted and deranged thoughts and expressions. I am a sinner. The outpouring of my heart is filthy. I bear a heart of stone.

And yet, there's hope.

In Psalm 51:10 it says this:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Do you know what is the greatest part about this verse? God answers that prayer.

Ezekiel 36:26 says this:

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

When Christ died for me, He took on my filthy heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh, a heart that loves Him, a heart that desires to please Him. He gave me a heart that can obey. He gave me a heart that is pure and unsullied. God looks at me and sees a pure child, because Christ paid the price for my sins.

2) That issues from a good conscience

- How can we have a good conscience?

- What can we do to strengthen and protect our conscience?

My conscience is seared and darkened with sin. In many ways I do not have a good conscience. However, with Christ's sacrifice and redemption, I am created anew, and I have a conscience that is able to see and choose what is good. By Christ's death and resurrection, I have a renewed mind.

Now, by God's grace I am called to continue renewing my mind, and be transformed by this (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). God enables us by His grace to have a good conscience, so that we can discern what His will is, and choose to obey and so please and glorify Him.

We strengthen and protect our conscience by fleeing what is evil, and pursuing what is good.

How often in Scripture are we commanded to put off the old, and put on the new? How often are we told to flee sin and pursue righteousness? Having a good conscience means, in part, being able to say "by God's grace I have not fallen in this area of sin to which I am prone." Having a good conscience means, in part, being able to stand before the presence of those who would seek to condemn you, and being able to say "I have followed God." If you fall into sin, your conscience condemns you. If you flee from sin and do not fall, God is glorified because no one can accuse you.

A good conscience places you above reproach. Christ's sacrifice placed His righteousness - including His good conscience - upon us. We should therefore seek to live up to what we have been given. For the sake of God's glory, let us pursue a good conscience.

3) That issues from a sincere faith

- What does it mean to have a sincere faith?

- How can I make my faith sincere?

Sincere faith is a faith that proves itself to be true. It's a faith without blemish; a faith that really believes what it says it believes.

Do we believe what we say we believe? How do we know?

James says "show me your faith apart from works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

Sincere faith proves itself by an outpouring of activity. We believe that God is real, so we seek to go out into the world and proclaim His gospel (Mark 16:15). We believe that God is love, so we seek to glorify Him by showing the love of Christ to broken, messed up humanity. We believe that we can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13), so we "attempt great things for God, and expect great things from God." (William Carey said it better than that, but you know.)

Head knowledge and merely saying "I believe," don't mean you have sincere faith. If God is truly working in you and sanctifying you, your faith will abound more and more in good works.

So, all of these things - a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith - are tied up together. If you have these things, you will have an outpouring of love. You won't be able to help it.

All Things Are From God

Verse-share-palooza!!

~

1 Chronicles 29:14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.

Job 35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?

Job 41:11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

John 3:27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1 Peter 2:9

I love this verse. The first part of it is amazing all on its own. Look at it:

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession..."

There's so much here in this to think about. Being a chosen race - taken out from the world, the nation of heaven, God's people. A royal priesthood - the King's children, co-heirs with the Great High Priest, Christ. A holy nation - set apart by God for His purposes. A people for His own possession - we belong to God, and He cares for us. It really is amazing.

What really hit me yesterday as I read this verse was the second half.

"that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. "

This is the reason why we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession - that we might proclaim His excellencies. We are saved to proclaim the glory of God. We are saved to further His works. We are saved so that we might take His light and shine it on the darkness of the world.

The verse doesn't go "that you may sit back, relax, let go and let God". It doesn't work like that. God saves us into responsibilities. We are to strive and put an effort into our lives. We are to pursue what is good and flee from what is evil. We are to put off the old self and put on the new. We are to train our minds and hearts to dwell upon holy things. We are to actively follow God. We're not to twiddle our thumbs and expect to be better Christians for it.

The verse also doesn't go "that you may do whatever you want, since you're forgiven". God will not be mocked by your continued sinfulness. If you, Christian, are dabbling in sin, take heed lest you fall. Your duty is to live in righteousness and holiness, forsaking sin and obeying the commands of God. If you love God, you will obey His commands. You will cast off unrighteousness and leave it behind. You will struggle and fight through temptations and trials.

Do you proclaim His excellencies?

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Do you ever have one of those moments where something becomes a whole lot clearer than it was before, and has a different meaning than you thought it did? One of those "aha" moments where you geek out about it because you're thrilled to finally know the answer?

I had one of those moments recently. (Yes. I do geek out.)

There is a part of the Lord's prayer that has always confused me.

Matthew 6:9-13:

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, - This one's easy; we pray to God, and He sits upon the throne exalted in Heaven. Piece of cake to understand.

hallowed be your name. - Also easy. God is holy, and we should acknowledge that.

Your kingdom come, - Easy enough; we pray for God's kingdom to come, for His promises to be fulfilled...

your will be done, - God's will is the better one, and we should conform our will to His and our desires to His. Easy.

on earth as it is in heaven. - God's will is followed and praised perfectly in Heaven. Would that it were so here! Easy.

Give us this day our daily bread, - God is the provider of all things, so it makes sense that we would make requests of Him. He provides for our needs, and gives us the good things we ask for. Easy-peasy!

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. - This one was a little more difficult, because if God forgave me only in the same way as I forgive others, I'd be doomed. But I think it's more of a promise; forgive us, Lord, as we ought to forgive (He has, from the moment we trust in Christ); and let us remember to forgive others as God has forgiven us. We have been forgiven so much; can we not forgive so little?

Now, here's the part that always confused me:

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. - The "deliver us from evil" part is as easy as the rest, because of course God does that. But what about "lead us not into temptation"? I never really got why that was included. I mean, God doesn't ever lead us into temptation. James 1:13 makes that clear. So why the prayer for something that would never occur? It confused me, so I used to spend very little time thinking about it. It got so I just left it alone, because I could not understand it. Every time I came across it I would think, "Lord, why is it even there??" But I never got an easily understandable answer.

Until now! *Cue happy ending music*

See, the problem was the English language. As much as I love it, it can be very confusing sometimes. Would that I knew Greek and Hebrew! Then I could have spared myself a lot of interpretation troubles.

Look here:

"The fifth petition, which sounds odd to English ears (the more so after reading James 1:13f.) involves several Hebraisms. To 'enter into temptation' means 'to yield to temptation' (cf. 4QFlor 1:8) and the negative ('...bring us not to enter into temptation') qualifies the idea of 'entry' or 'yielding to temptation'. The whole thus means 'cause us not-to-succumb to temptation' rather than 'do not cause us to succumb to temptation'." ("Teach us to Pray" - Chapter 4, Prayer in the Gospels and Acts, M. M. B. Turner)

It was definitely an "aha!" moment for me. It makes much more sense that "lead us not into temptation" would mean "prevent us from being tempted" or "enable us to overcome temptation". Which is awfully cool! (See? I'm still geeking out about it.)

Yesterday's Notes on Ephesians 1

Paul, an apostle...he has authority from God.

...an apostle of Christ Jesus...specifically serving the Lord.

...an apostle...by the will of God...God raised him up, and confronted him with salvation on the road to Damascus. God had great plans for Paul, and Paul would suffer much in the name of Jesus.

To the saints...that is what we are in Christ. faithful in Christ Jesus...because of Jesus.

Blessed be God! He has blessed us [in Christ] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We have all we will need from God in Christ.

in the heavenly places...this is not our home. We have a dual citizenship right now, being in the Now and the Coming. We are citizens of heaven.

He chose us...God is sovereign, almighty, and omnipotent when it comes to salvation. He chose us before the foundation of the world.

even as he chose us...if He did not choose us, we can't say we have been blessed in Christ either. One is as the other. If we are blessed, then we also were chosen.

we should be holy and blameless...the requirement upon receiving salvation: Christ-likeness.

blameless before him...God is the Prime witness, the only one we have offended or can offend. Our sin and negligence are ultimately against Him.

In love...God moved not mechanically or without emotion; all His purposes were bound up in the love He had for us from before the foundation of the world.

He predestined us for adoption...not by our own work or merit, but before we existed or willed. It is all of God. To Him be the glory, honour and power forever and ever! Amen.

through Jesus Christ...In Christ alone my hope is found. He alone is our Mediator, Redeemer, and Propitiation. In Him only are we redeemed. Those outside of Him are still in their sins. There is no way to be reconciled to God but through Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will...Acts 2:23. God's plan from before the foundation of the world was that the Son should pay the price for our sin. He ALWAYS loved us, and ALWAYS had a mind for our salvation.

to the praise of His glorious grace...our purpose: to glorify God. To God be the glory, great things He hath done...

with which he has blessed us in the Beloved...only in Christ are these blessings found.

the Beloved...Christ is the Beloved Son, with Whom the Father was well pleased. Christ did all things well. He was perfect, and perfectly sinless. He was beloved of god and had a unified relationship with the Father. This He gave up on the cross for our sake.

we have redemption through his blood...not by His works are we saved, but by the shedding of His blood. Blood sacrifice was required of God for sin. The life is in the blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

the forgiveness of our trespasses...because the Beloved's blood was shed.

according to the riches of his grace...again, not of our works, but by His grace and His shed blood; He chose to be gracious and planned to be gracious from before the foundation of the earth. Blessed be His name!

He lavished upon us...He is no skinflint. God is generous with His blessing.

in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will...God does not leave us in the dark. He has revealed His will insofar as we need to know it in order to obey. We have all the knowledge we require. We cannot presume to claim ignorance, for God has not left us in ignorance. He has revealed what is necessary.

according to his purpose...he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time...God has set the date. He will act precisely when He means to. His purposes are often veiled to us, but it is not required that we see them; what is required from us is faith. God blesses us, redeems us, and loves us; can we not trust Him?

to unite all things in him...the day is coming when there will be no more strife. Through Christ we are reconciled to God and united in Him. Christ is all, and in all. Things in heaven have met unchangeably with things on earth, and God will not go back now. What He has revealed cannot be unrevealed. What He has shed cannot be unshed.

In him we have obtained an inheritance...in Christ we are heirs, more than conquerors, children of God! Hallelujah!

[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will...Amen!

the gospel of your salvation...the gospel is the word of truth. It is of our salvation. Put to death the questions and doubts about its authenticity! Who would you believe rather than God? Man? History? Science? Archeology? None of them are infallible, but God is.

sealed with the promised Holy Spirit...sealed - bound - imprinted. Marked. Eternally tattooed. All of creation knows you belong to God, and will eternally. God has you forever and ever. The seal of the Holy Spirit cannot be broken. He is God. What God has joined together, let not man separate...Christ is joined to His Bride irrevocably. Can we lose our salvation? Are we not sealed?

The Spirit is our guarantee! He is the "down payment" of our inheritance. We are God's children. Heirs. Co-heirs with Christ. We are written into God's will and we cannot be scratched out. Praise God!

For this reason...because of their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints, Paul gives thanks, and remembers them in his prayers. Paul is no slacker in prayer. He knows the blessing of seeing those whom you love living in a way that proves their faith....

God...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him...God understands our weakness and helps us in it. He opens our eyes to the truth and gives us discernment and understanding.

that you may know...God reveals His will where we are concerned.

His GLORIOUS inheritance...the IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS of his power toward us who believe...is God weak? Is God limited? Or is He powerfully at work in our salvation?

God works with great might...just as He raised Christ, He works His immeasurable greatness for His children.

Christ...is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, in every age. All things are under His feet, and He is head over all things to the church. If the church is serving Christ + something else, there is a serious problem.

the church...his body...He is one with His church. Christ is our King and our all in all. We are representatives of His only insofar as we represent Him alone, above every other name that is named.

Let it be, Lord! May it be so.

Ephesians 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

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 a 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.

Diotrephes

3 John 1:9-11

"I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God."

In my Bible reading, this stuck out to me quite a bit. I've read the story referring to Diotrephes before, but it never struck me the same way as it did recently. In the past I have just kind of skimmed over it, thinking "yea, bad Diotrephes" but never pondering the reasons for why John writes of him.

John points out this wicked man within the church.

Diotrophes puts himself first; he does not acknowledge the authority of the apostles; and he talks wicked nonsense against them. Now, what stuck out to me the most this time was in the following bit:

Not only did he do all those things, but he also refuses to welcome Christian travelers, and even casts people out of the church when they do want to help their fellow Christians.

I realized that Diotrephes must be in some position of leadership within the church.

This led me to wonder how he got there. What evidence of righteousness did he show, that brought people to the conclusion that he was a man of God? It seems that he was really not - John alludes to this when he states "whoever does evil has not seen God". Whatever it was, it must have been convincing. By all accounts he must have at first looked like a man who truly served God.

In the same reading, I switched over to 2 Corinthians and read this passage:

2 Corinthians 11:12-15

"And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

Diotrephes disguised himself as an apostle of Christ, a servant of righteousness.

In reality he was serving his master, Satan.

Make no mistake, Satan infiltrates the Church. His desire is to wreak havoc among God's children, to do as much damage as he possibly can before Christ's return. He knows his own defeat, but that does not mean he won't try to leave scars all along the road to his demise.

Just like when he left Jesus after tempting him, waiting for an "opportune time", he waits for the best moments to strike. And strike he does.

Have you ever heard of leaders within the church who have fallen out of tune with Scripture? Who have committed some despicable sin against their families, their church, and God? Who have betrayed the people who knew, loved, and followed them? I have.

It's easy to be afraid when you think about that. All the people I know, that I think are excellent servants of Christ, who live lives that are "as close as possible" to God's will, can be lying to themselves and to me. I mean, it's possible.

We are weakest where we think we are safest. It's easy enough to feel comfortable within the church, like nothing is wrong. In reality, we are a bunch of sinners gathering together. The scarier reality is that some of those sinners aren't relying on the blood of Jesus.

But it's only scary insofar as we rely on ourselves and our own wits, instead of relying on the grace and power of God. Satan infiltrates the church, but God protects His own. He has the victory already. Those scars that Satan leaves on the Church are reformed into marks of beauty and grace when washed by the blood of the Lamb.

So, should we be wary that false apostles and deceitful workmen could be moving freely in the church? Indeed we should. That is why we should be studying the Scriptures in earnest, and praying daily that God would reveal the truth of it to our ignorant minds; we should receive the word with joy, and study the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. That is why we should put on the whole armor of God, and flee to the Shepherd and Protector, never wandering away from His side with an overblown confidence in our own ability to withstand the devil's schemes.

But should we be afraid? Not at all.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Psalm 56:4 "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"

Jeremiah 1:8 "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord."

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word."

Speaking of Whether We Can Know What Scripture is Actually Saying...

This article answers the question fairly well.

"To take the Bible literally simply means that you take it at face value, which is the proper task of hermeneutics. If it is poetry, read and interpret it as poetry. If it is history, read and interpret it as history. It also means that you take into account the historical-cultural context, and the wider theological context of the entire canon.

Is this so difficult to understand?"

Sola Scriptura

I've been thinking about this topic for a while. Over the years I've been on the internet, I've seen many comments pertaining to the idea of "Sola Scriptura". On the one side there are the people who hold to it with full resolve. I stand with these. On the other side are people who say it doesn't exist. These are the two basic types of belief when it comes down to it.

I believe that Sola Scriptura is a Biblical principle. I believe it is one that Christians should stand upon. I also believe that those who think it doesn't exist, don't really know what it's about.

So, here is my attempt to explain it.

"Sola Scriptura, after all, does not require the exclusion of all extrabiblical data, even from theology. It simply requires that in theology and in all other disciplines, the highest authority, the supreme standard, be Scripture and Scripture alone." - "Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction" - John M. Frame

Scripture alone is the counsel of God.

Nothing can be presented on the same level as Scripture. It is what we fall back on with our theology. It is what we turn to in order to be certain that our beliefs and practices are righteous. It is our standard for the way we live, and the way we think.

Scripture is God's message to us. It reveals much about His character. It shows us His plan, from the beginning of creation up until the final Day when Christ will return.

There are many things we know from Scripture about God that we wouldn't know otherwise.

Scripture reveals itself to be God's word, breathed through men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Scripture is infallible, inerrant, and unchanging. They bear the mark of God, and He is Truth. (Note here that I am not going to get into the questions of how and why it is infallible, etc. These are truths that I hold to be fundamental. I have written my reasons for believing them before. I do not think it necessary to reiterate.)

Sola Scriptura means that all other authoritative teaching, etc., must be drawn under the scope of God's word. Everything we are taught about God and ourselves must be checked and re-checked against Scripture.

Sola Scriptura means that Scripture has a primacy over all else. It takes precedence over all other revelation. All other revelation must be weighed against Scripture.

"We should look at everything with the spectacles of Scripture." - Calvin

NB: Arguing points from Scripture does not nullify the idea of Sola Scriptura.

Some have made this argument before: that because we are imperfect beings with preconceived notions about everything, we cannot know what Scripture is actually saying.

Poppycock.

I can argue with someone, for instance, about the holiness of God. I can bring up points about God's holiness and claim that Scripture undeniably calls God a holy God. My argument from Scripture is not the same as Scripture; but it does not nullify the idea of Sola Scriptura. We can expound on ideas in the Bible without removing its sole authoritative state. We are capable of knowing the truth about God's word, and applying it. Our knowledge and application are not infallible, but that does not mean that Scripture isn't. If we interpret something incorrectly, it is our job to continue to search the Scriptures to double check our beliefs.

Our interpretations of the infallible word of God are not themselves infallible. But that doesn't mean they are completely fallible. We can know truth. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, and enables us to be taught of the true things of God.

God gives us understanding (2 Timothy 2:7).

1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

We may have fallible minds that are bent and crooked because of our preconceived notions, but Jesus is able and willing to overcome our prejudices and give us understanding of the Truth. Praise be to Him, both now and forevermore!

NB: Our interpretations of Scripture must sometimes be corrected; but the correction must come FROM SCRIPTURE.

Scripture itself corrects our mistaken interpretations. We have no higher standard with which to test our beliefs, no rule that is greater in its authority. We cannot trust our own opinions, or even the opinions of "great" and "wise" men and women.

If we do not have a final standard for all our thought and beliefs, our lives will be endless circles of redundancy. We will believe what we believe because we believe it, and for no other reason. There has to be truth. There has to be a final word.

Scripture alone is just that.