The Power to Stand Firm

22 dec 2024 · Meadowbrooke Church

00:45:41

We come to the end of Ephesians today. At the beginning of his letter to these dear Christians, Paul prayed that they would come to know the significance of what it meant to be a Christian and what it meant to be the Church: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19a). Isn’t this what we want for our own selves? To see with the eyes of our hearts the hope we have because of God’s calling, to wrap our hearts around the profound implications of what it means to belong to God as His inheritance, and to have our hearts full with the reality that the boundless greatness of the power of Almighty God now belongs to those of us who have been redeemed by God’s own Son.

What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be the Church? The answer is provided for us more than 200 times in the New Testament and over 30 times in Ephesians alone; the answer given for what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the Church is that you are a Christian and you belong to His church if you are “in Christ.”

Before He spoke Creation into existence, God chose you and set His love upon you for the purpose that you would be holy and blameless... in Christ (1:4-6). Your sin was not so great to keep you from the love of God, for He made your salvation and redemption possible through His Son who died upon a cross for your sins and lavished His grace upon you (vv. 7-12). You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit which guarantees your complete and total salvation... and He did it “in Christ” (vv. 13-14). Oh, dear Christian, what did you ever do to deserve so great a salvation? Nothing, because all of it was provided for you in and through Christ!

The Christ who was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places is now yours (1:20-21)! The Christ who is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, the One to Whom belongs the obedience of the nations, and He who is head over all things... is now yours (vv. 22-23)! Christian, what did you do to receive Him as yours? You who were once dead in your offenses and sins, was there anything in you that warranted God’s grace? You were listed among the “sons of disobedience,” you “lived in the lusts of your flesh,” you “indulged the desires of the flesh and of the mind,” and because of your sins... you were categorized by the Almighty as a “child of wrath” (2:1-3). What was it about you that compelled God to save you instead of leaving you in your sins? It was His rich mercy, His great love, and His all-sufficient grace that made you alive in Christ (vv. 4-9). You are now in Christ, and all because of Christ!

Now that you have been saved by Christ, you who were once far away have been brought near so that He is now your truth, He is now your righteousness, and He is now your peace (2:11-16). You are now united to Christ and belong to His body (4:1-32). As a member of His body, you now belong to the Bride of Christ, and because you are His Bride, Jesus is cleansing and sanctifying you through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit (5:22-32).

So, when you come to Ephesians 6:10 and read: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” you should know by now where it is that you are able to find that strength. It is found... “in Christ.” We are strong in the Lord when we put on the “full armor of God.” Yet, the irony is that it is already provided because of our union in Jesus. He is our belt of truth, He is our breastplate of righteousness, He is our peace through the gospel, He is our shield of faith, He is our helmet of salvation, and He is our sword of the Spirit. We are stronger in the Lord the more we recognize our weakness and how much we need to pursue Him.

Listen, the only way you will discover how weak you are is by seeing how big God is, how sufficient Jesus is as your Savior, and how powerful the Holy Spirit is as the One who is keeping you.

How We Are to Pray

So here is what I want to do with the remainder of our time together. First, I want to look at how we are to pray and then I hope to show you what that kind of praying is where the power of the armor of God is experienced.

There are four categories of prayer that ought to be a part of our prayer life as Christians listed in Ephesians 6:18. The Greek word that is used four times in verse 18 that can be translated “all” or “every” is the Greek word, “pas” (πᾶς). Some versions of the Bible have chosen to translate pas as “all” every time it is used in verse 18, while others like new version of the NASB translate pas as “every” and “all.” In an effort to make the translation read smoothly, the NASB translates it this way: “With every [pas] prayer and request, pray at all [pas] times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all [pas] perseverance and every request for all [pas] the saints...” So how are we to pray?

We are to pray in ALL ways to God (v. 18a).

What are the ways you can pray? You can pray quietly to God. You can pray vocally to God. You can pray with groups of other Christians to God. You can pray privately to God. You can pray while prostrate on your face to God. You can pray while standing, you can pray while kneeling, and you can pray while walking. You can pray with your eyes closed, you can pray with your eyes open, and you can pray with your head bowed or lifted up. You can pray in all ways to God because of who you are in Christ.

We are to pray at ALL times to God (v. 18b).

You can pray in the evening to God. You can pray in the morning to God. You can pray midday to God. You can pray while suffering, while hungry, while in good health, or when in ill health. It does not matter what the circumstances are or if it is in the early morning hours or in the midnight hour... there is no time when God’s door is shut, or His time limited so that His redeemed children are not permitted to come before Him in prayer.

We are to pray with ALL perseverance (v. 18c).

While we pray in all ways and at all times in the Spirit, we are to do so while alert and do so persistently. We stand between the first advent and the second advent when Jesus will come again as King, until He comes again, we are to remain alert for two reasons: first, while we wait, we are in enemy territory where our adversary is categorized as a roaring lion who longs to destroy and devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Jesus told His disciples that while we wait for His return that we must, “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is” (Mark 13:33). Sinclair Ferguson said of prayer: “Christ is building his church on territory that has been occupied by an enemy. Alertness is always essential when living in a war zone.”[1]

We are to pray for ALL the saints (v. 18d).

In the same way that we pray for ourselves, we must also pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ! We do not just pray for those who we agree with theologically, but for every Christian regardless of where they fellowship, what church they attend, or in what part of the world they live. This also means praying for your spouse, praying for your children, praying for your grandchildren, and anyone else in your world who believes in Jesus. When it comes to their relationship with God, God cares more about their spiritual health than you ever could, so pray expecting that God can do, “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think...” (3:20) in the lives of those saints you pray for more than your imagination can come up with.

There is a fifth way we are to pray: We are to pray in all ways and at all times in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power that makes the armor of God effective so that you can stand strong, stand against the schemes of the devil, and stand firm on the evil day.

The Power of the Armor of God is in Who it Belongs To

To Pray in the Spirit according to Ephesians 6:18 is not to pray in tongues, that is a different type of praying addressed elsewhere in the Bible, but not here. When we pray in the Spirit, we pray with the confidence that we have access to God Almighty who spoke billions of stars into existence with just the word of His power; not only does He hear us as our Heavenly Father, but He can, “do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (3:20) because we are in Christ and He is our Heavenly father. It is the kind of confidence we read about in Romans 8:14-16, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God...”

Do you remember what I said about what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit when we covered Ephesians 4:30 and 5:18 in this sermon series? I said to be filled with the Spirit is not about you getting more of the Holy Spirit, but about the Holy Spirit getting more of you. The more of you that the Holy Spirit has, the more power of the Holy Spirit you will experience! Same is true when it comes to experiencing the strength of the Lord: the more of our hearts, the more of our obedience, and the more of our dependance He has of us... the more of His strength we will experience through His Holy Spirit.

The power of the Armor of God is not in our ability to put it on but in the One who it belongs to! This brings us back full circle from what we read in the first sentence of Ephesians (1:1-14) to Ephesians 6:18-24.

Conclusion

The baby born on the first Christmas and laid in a manger is Christ the Lord! He who was born of a virgin, is the same One who formed Mary in her own mother’s womb. The One who through whom all things were created, was laid in a manger for the purpose of carrying a cross to die for sinners. The One who lived the life we could not, to die a death we deserved is not only our Savior, but our Mediator: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all...” (1 Tim. 2:5–6). The Christ in the manger is ours not because of anything we have done, but because of His victory on the cross and over the grave: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8a).

So, it makes perfect sense that Paul would conclude his letter with a call to all of those who are in Christ to pray in the Spirit in all ways, all the time, with all perseverance, and for all the saints because in Jesus, “we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens...” (Heb. 9:1). If you are a Christian, then one of the things you learn from Ephesians is that you are “in Christ.” To be “in Christ” means that you now share an unbreakable union with Christ because that union was chosen by God the Father, purchased by His Son’s own blood, and sealed by His Holy Spirit. Prayer is the fruit of our union in Christ, prayer is communion we have with God, prayer is the direct access we have to God because of our union in Christ. Prayer is the power source to the strength of the Lord that is available to the Christian with the armor of God.

Jesus is the belt of truth, which is your identity in Him, but the security you have with Jesus as your truth will only be as firm as your understanding and confidence that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Jesus is your breastplate of righteousness, but your confidence in Him as your righteousness will only be as firm as your confidence that His righteousness is all the righteousness that you will ever need. Jesus is the shoes of the gospel of peace, but the extent you will be able to stand firm in the gospel will only be as secure as your understanding of the reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the shield of faith, but your shield will only be as large as your understanding of who He is based on how saturated your faith in the Word of God is. Jesus is the helmet of salvation, but the hope of your salvation will only be as effective as your joy in just how great your salvation really is. Jesus is the sword of the Spirit in that all the word of God points to Him, but your ability to wield the truth of God’s word will only be as effective as you are willing to use it. Prayer is what happens when you understand how weak you are and how big God really is.

Prayer is the evidence that we are growing in our relationship with Christ! Sam Allberry, in his excellent book, One with My Lord, put it this way: “Growth in the Christian life is needing God more, not needing him less. So we will be doing more asking over the years, not less asking. We don’t grow out of prayer, just further into it.”[2] This is why it is only fitting that Paul would conclude his epistle with the appeal to pray at all times! The more we seek God out of a growing awareness of our weakness, the more like Jesus we will become. Again Sam Allberry is spot on: “Prayer is not about bending God to our wills but about expressing our own wills as they are being bent to his.”[3]

Here is the thing though: Our union in Christ is not dependent upon our performance as Christians. Our union in Christ was, is, and forever will be dependent upon the life and faithfulness of Jesus. To the extent that we depend upon Him will determine just how much of our hearts He really has, and to the extent of how much of our minds, our hearts, and our will that He has will determine just how much of His power we will experience in our lives. You will never be less in Him than you already are, but His power will only be experienced in and through your life to the extent of how much of you Jesus really has. So, my question to you dear Christian is simply this: How much of you does Jesus really have?

Oh, dear brother... oh, dear sister in Christ, do you not want to see with the eyes of your heart the hope of His calling, the riches of His inheritance, and know the power of the Holy Spirit (1:18-19a)? Do you not want to know the joy of a life built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as your chief cornerstone (2:20)? Do you not long for the kind of life that comes out of comprehending the width and length and height and depth of what you have in Christ (3:14-19)? Are you not tired of the cheap thrills this world offers when it is through Christ that you can know the kind of satisfaction that comes with walking in a manner worthy of the calling in which you have been called (4:1-3)?

If you understood your union in Christ, you would seek to enjoy the unity we are called to with those who belong to His Church (4:4-6). If you understood what it is that you share with Christ, you would desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit instead of looking for ways to grieve Him (4:30; 5:18). Oh, because of the great redemption you now enjoy, do you not hate the things that displease Him (5:1-13)? Do you not want to come out of this life smelling like the sweet aroma of Christ; can you not hear the Holy Spirit’s call upon your life at this very moment: “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (5:14)?

To be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (6:10), the ability to stand firm against the devil’s schemes, and to be able to resist when the evil day comes... will only be experienced more frequently when you see just how weak you are and how sufficient Christ is in all things, in all ways, for all times, and for all people! In so doing, may we be known for our love for Jesus and in the way we live for Him and serve those around us.

[1] Sinclair Ferguson, Let’s Study Ephesians (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust; 2021), p. 186.

[2] Sam Allberry, One With My Lord (Weaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 151

[3] Sam Allberry, One With My Lord (Weaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 152.

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God Wants Me to Be Happy
19 jan· Meadowbrooke Church
All people want to be happy. I have spent a lot of time with people as a pastor, and the majority of couples and individuals who met with me over the years did so because they longed to be happy. It is also true that the motivation for couples seeking marriage or divorce, the desire for a new job or the determination to quit a job, what led to substance abuse or a willingness to break an addiction is all the same: the desire to be happy. In fact, there have been people who claimed to be Christians who sought marriage, divorce, drugs, freedom from addiction, debt, and freedom from debt out of the belief that God wanted them to be happy.
How about you? Do you believe God wants you to be happy? Do you believe that the ends justify the means to achieve and experience the happiness you believe God wants for you? Maybe you are asking any one of the following questions:
“I am unhappy where I live, if I have the means to do so, can I move so that I can be happier?”
“I am tired of driving the same old car, should I buy a new one that will make me happier?”
“I feel unfulfilled where I work, can I look for a new job that will fill my day with a little more joy?”
“I feel ignored and taken for granted in my marriage, my spouse does not meet my needs, I am unhappy, our children are miserable because we are miserable... something needs to change so that we can be happy.”
So here is what I want to do with the time we have left. I want to show you from the Bible three things:
God expects you to seek happiness.God commands you to pursue your joy.Finding your joy/happiness is possible.
By answering the above three questions, I hope that you will have a clear and biblical understanding as to whether God wants you to be happy.
God Expects You to Seek Happiness (vv. 1-5)
Let me begin by stating that in Psalm 95 alone, the word joy is repeated three times in the first two verses: “sing for joy...”, “shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation”, “shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.” But Psalm 95 is not the only place where such language is used; consider the language from the Bible:
“Delight yourself...” (Ps. 37:4)
“Rejoice...” (Phil. 4:4)
“Rejoice always...” (1 Thess. 5:16)
“Let us rejoice and be glad...” (Ps. 118:24)
But where is it that God expects us to find our joy? Again, consider the same above verses:
“Delight yourself in the Lord...” (Ps. 37:4)
“Rejoice in the Lord always...” (Phil. 4:4)
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
“This is the day which the Lord has made, let’s us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24)
Is our happiness only to be found in God? What about verses like Ecclesiastes 9:9, does it not tell us to enjoy life while we have it? “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your futile life which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for this is your reward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.” Yes and no. Consider the first two verses of Psalm 19 and what it says about creation: “The heavens tell of the glory of God; and their expanse declares the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” The heavens are what God created, and like your wife whom you love, like the life you enjoy, and everything else... it all points to the glory of the Creator!
The reason why Psalm 95 begins with these words: “Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord, let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments” is because He is the giver of all good things! Why should we worship Yahweh? Because Psalm 95:3-5 is true of only Him: “For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are also His. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.” This is why, of the Ten Commandments, Jesus summed up the first four: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37; see also Deut. 6:5; Exod. 20:1-11).
Listen, God expects us to seek our joy, but not ultimately in His good gifts but in the giver who gave those good gifts... namely God Himself. In fact C.S. Lewis rightfully observed from reading his Bible that, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”[1]
God Commands You to Pursue Your Joy (vv. 6-7)
Psalm 95 begins with an imperative, which is a command: “Come, let’s sing for joy...” Why does He command us to pursue our joy? Because we exist for something greater than the good gifts of His creation. We exist because of Him and for Him! The second imperative in Psalm 95 begins with verse 6, “Come, let’s worship and bow down, let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Why are we commanded to bow before God? Because “He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” (v. 7).
The command to pursue our joy is not that we find it in anything, but in the One who made all things. He is God, and by definition there is nothing and no one that is greater than He is. To look for or expect our happiness or joy to be primarily found in anything or anyone else will not only leave you empty and disappointed, but is to worship the gift over the Giver! To worship the gift over the Giver is to expect from the gift the thing that only the Giver, God, can provide.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, Reflections on the Psalms, something that I have found helpful, so I will share it with you:
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with.
Do you hear what C.S. Lewis is saying? We praise what we value and care about and our delight is not complete until our delight is expressed. If it is true, that there is no greater beauty, reality, or person than the God who created all that is beautiful and good, true worship cannot be experienced unless it is directed at Him. This is why the Westminster Catechism is right to begin with these words: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” But even on this point, C.S. Lewis made the following observation that helps us get a little closer to answering the question as to what kind of happiness God wants for us; here is what Lewis wrote: “The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. To fully enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” John Piper took it one step further by swapping out the word “and” in the Westminster Catechism of Faith with the word “by”: “The chief end of man is to glorify God byenjoying Him forever.”
God does expect us to seek our happiness, and He does command us to pursue our joy, but a happiness and a joy that is rooted in Him. If our happiness and joy is sought in anything other than God, it will not satisfy. However, if the pursuit of our happiness and joy is sought in Him, there will be a joy and happiness that will be rooted in a contentment in Him. This is how and why James 1:2-3 is only true for those who find their joy in Jesus Christ: “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Finding Your Joy/Happiness is Possible (vv. 8-10)
So, does God want you to be happy? Yes, He wants you to be happy in Him! Does that mean that He wants you to leave your marriage because it does not make you happy? No! Does that mean you should leave your job because it does not make you happy? No. Does that mean you should get a new car because it does not make you happy? No, not necessarily. Why? Because your happiness and joy cannot ultimately be found in anything or anyone except the God who is your Maker.
When we come to Psalm 95:8, there is a shift from the command to find your joy in God to Israel’s rebellion while they were in the wilderness, and more specifically, the Psalm refers to something that happened in Exodus 17:1-7 not long after God saved Israel from Pharoh and his army by parting the Red Sea. While in Egypt, Israel witnessed their God and Maker do mighty deeds that should have left little room to doubt His goodness and love for His people. Even though they had no reason to doubt God’s faithfulness to them, they still struggled to believe His faithfulness to them, so they complained: “So the people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water so that we may drink” (Exod. 17:2)! Moses’ response gives us a glimpse into 40 years of Israel in the wilderness: “Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
Throughout Israel’s existence, they were known for complaining and faithlessness towards God. Even after 40 years in the wilderness, God said of His people: “‘Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,’ declares the Lord. ‘For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living waters, to carve out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that do not hold water’” (Jer. 2:12-13). The great evil that Israel was guilty of was that She traded God for idols that could not satisfy. Consider another example from Isaiah 55:1-3 when God invited His people to turn away from the things that could not satisfy what they really needed:
You there! Everyone who thirsts, 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 do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.
So what happened in Exodus 17? Moses immediately brought Israel’s complaint before God out of a fear that they might eventually stone him to death. Moses asked, “What am I to do with this people?” (v. 4). Listen to the way God responded to Israel’s lack of faith and sin: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (17:5-6). In other words, God said to Moses: “Moses, take your staff that ought to be used to strike Israel for their sins, and take your rod and strike the rock I will be standing on so that Israel will not die of thirst.”
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, the apostle Paul said that the rock Moses struck was a picture and example of what God would do to satisfy the thirst of all who desire to be satisfied. The rod of God’s judgment for our sin came down upon Jesus as the rock of our salvation! Paul said of the rock Moses struck: “for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ” (v. 4). Now, listen to what Jesus said in John 7:37-38, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
Psalm 95 begins with these words: “Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord, let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.” Jesus is the “rock of our salvation”! Again, Psalm 95 continues, “Come, let’s worship and bow down, let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker” (v. 6). Of Jesus, the Bible testifies, “...for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16). Because the rod of God’s holy wrath came upon Jesus in our place, we are told:
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11)
The Psalmist then reminds us that not only is God our Maker, but that He is our God, “and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness...” (v. 7). Can you not hear the words of Jesus in Psalm 95:7, did He not say: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.... I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me.... And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd” (John 10:11, 14, 16).
Conclusion
Is joy and happiness possible for you? The answer is Yes! But it will not come from your car, through your job, or from any other person, but your Maker and the Great Shepherd of His sheep... namely Jesus! If you are seeking your happiness and joy in anything other than Jesus, then C.S. Lewis’ words serve as a fitting conclusion to this sermon: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
God wants you to be happy and He wants you to experience joy, but it is a happiness and a joy that can only be found in Him. The joy and happiness that can only be found in God is the kind of joy and happiness that does not dissolve through suffering but sustains the sufferer because of the One from Whom true happiness and joy comes from. Amen.
[1] C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (San Diego: Harvest, 1964), p. 93.
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Where’s the Love?
12 jan· Meadowbrooke Church
The church in Ephesus was planted sometime around AD 52 by apostle Paul with the help of Aquila and Priscilla. The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John sometime in the mid 90s. The church had existed in a very difficult city for many years; a city where Christians did not have rights, emperor worship was mandatory, and the economy was heavily dependent on the worship of Artemis. From the time the apostle brought the gospel to the city and the letter to Ephesus, written to the church and included in the book of Revelation, the challenges the church faced in Ephesus did not get easier. Yet in its 40th year (relatively speaking), they were known for doing some really good things and what they were most known for was their doctrinal purity.
It would have been easy for any church present in a city like Ephesus to have fallen prey to the sin of the city had its doctrine not been rock solid. The church was commended by Jesus for her doctrinal purity: “I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary” (Rev. 2:2–3). Jesus praised the Ephesian Church for not tolerating evil people, their ability to sniff out false apostles, and perseverance to hold the line doctrinally in a city that was utterly demonic.
It is only because their doctrine as a church was pure that they were able to persevere and stand against the onslaught of evil people, false apostles, and every other demonic force that threatened their congregation. Sound doctrine is good theology, and good theology is known as orthodoxy. As a church, we spent 46 weeks in Ephesians. Throughout the epistle were encouraged to make sure that our doctrine is pure! We are told in Ephesians 5:26 that Jesus is cleansing and purifying His people “through the washing of the water of the word.” We, the church of Jesus Christ, are being, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone...” (2:20-22). Sound doctrine cannot and must not be substituted by what others feel is less offensive and more agreeable.
However, there was something that Jesus did have against the church in Ephesus, and it is a danger each of us face even today.
Their Love Was Found Wanting
There was a lot of good the Ephesian Church was doing that was praised by Jesus, but the thing that threatened the church most in Ephesus was not the temple of Artemus, it was not the demonic idols and sorcery the city was known for, and it was not even the Roman Empire that saw Christianity as a threat. The thing that threatened the church was from within, and it is what threatens us today. The church looked healthy on the outside, but there was a cancer that if left untreated could turn terminal, and it was the only antidote that keeps orthodoxy from becoming dead legalism. Listen again to Jesus’ loving but stern rebuke of this church: “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (v. 4).
Now, there are three questions you need to answer before you can be helped and encouraged by Revelation 2:1-7, and verse 4 is at the center of those three questions. Here are the three questions that must be answered:
“What is meant by ‘first love’”?“Whose love abandoned who?”“Who is it that was no longer loved?” The question is this, “What is the object of their love that they left?”
What is meant by “first love”?
If the Bible you are using is the NIV or ESV, then your translation reads, “...you have abandoned the love you had at first.” But the KJV and NASB versions of the Bible translate the Greek in such a way to suggest that the Ephesian Christians have left their first love. Is the love that has been abandoned a person or is it the depth and quality of love? Well, one way you can answer that question is to see if there are any clues in the epistle to the Ephesians that help us understand what kind of love is being talked about here, and thankfully there are two clues given to us at the beginning and end of Paul’s letter to this church. The first clue is found in Ephesians 1:15-16, “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you...” The second clue is found in the very last verse in Ephesians: “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love” (6:24).
So what kind of love is it that has been abandoned? I believe it is the quality of love they once had for another person or people. This is why I believe the NLT version of the Bible offers the best translation of Revelation 2:4, “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”
Whose Love Abandoned Who?
This is an easy question to answer. The Ephesian church is who “left” their first love. What Paul thanked God for in Ephesians 1:15-16, they had lost. Love is what keeps orthodoxy from becoming legalism. Legalism is a perversion of orthopraxy (right living) that is devoid of mercy and grace. You also need to understand that love for Jesus and His people with orthodoxy is also a deadly cancer that threatens the church.
The Ephesian Church abandoned their first love, and I do not think that they did it intentionally. I believe it happened somewhere along their journey and participation in God’s mission that they did not even realize that it happened. During my church planting years Sundays were always hard work just to make it happen. We had to set up our platform, chairs, and equipment every single Sunday for years. One particular Sunday, Seth wanted to go home with me so that he could play with his friends whose parents were helping me tear down. When I was finished with what I had to do to wrap up, I headed home but it wasn’t long before I received a call from Julie (my administrative assistant at the time) who asked me if I had forgotten anything. I immediately realized that I had forgotten my Bible to which she replied: “Yes, you did forget your Bible. Did you forget anything else?” At that moment, I realized I had forgotten Seth, who was about five at the time. Somewhere along the way the passion and love for Jesus had been left behind while they held tight to their orthodoxy, but what they were left with was a legalism that threatened from within the church.
Who was no longer loved?
You probably already guessed by now the answer. I believe it was their love for Jesus and His people. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was by a group of legalistic religious leaders, he answered: “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:37–39). Your love for God will create in you a love for people; you cannot claim to love God and at the same time refuse to love others. Your vertical love for God will overflow into a love for others, this is especially true for those who Christ died for and are now His church (people). If you are struggling to believe what I just said, then believe the apostle John who said, “If someone says, ‘I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen’” (1 John 4:20).
I believe the Ephesian church, who was first known for their faith in Jesus and incorruptible love for Him was the catalyst that created in them a love for one another that they were known for in the early days of the church’s existence. Their love infused faith in Jesus and their love for all the saints was the cocktail God used to push back evil and transform lives!
What Revelation 2:1-4 teaches us is that Jesus wants our obedience, but He also wants our hearts! In fact, if Jesus has you heart, He will have your obedience.
The Way Back is Always Jesus
What about you dear Christian? Have you lost your love for Jesus and His people? Has your love for Him waned over the years? Have you gotten sidetracked? Think about the days when you first encountered Jesus and believed in Him. Remember the excitement of those days. In many respects, it is very similar to any relationship where you experienced love.
If you are married, think back to the days when you first met your spouse. Try to remember what you felt on your first date. Can you recall the day you were engaged? Revelation 2:1-7 reminds me of a funny little article titled, “The Seven Years of the Married Cold.” I am not sure who wrote it, but I first heard about in through a sermon Pastor Greg Laurie preached; here is how the article described the first seven years of marriage dealing with the common cold:
First year of marriage: “Sugar dumpling, I’m really worried about my baby girl. You’ve got a bad sniffle and there’s no telling about these things with all the strep going around. I’m putting you in the hospital this afternoon for a general checkup and a good rest. I know the food’s lousy, but I’ll be bringing your meals in from Rozzini’s. I already have it all arranged with the floor superintendent.”
Second year: “Listen darling, I don’t like the sound of that cough. I’ve called Doc Miller to rush over here. Now you go to bed like a good girl, just for Poppa.”
Third year: “Maybe you had better lie down, honey. Nothing like a little rest when you feel lousy. I’ll bring you some soup.”
Fourth year: “Now look, dear, be sensible. After you’ve fed the kids, and done the dishes, and washed the floor, you better lie down.”
Fifth year: “Why don’t you take a couple aspirin?”
Sixth year: “I wish you’d just gargle or something instead of sitting around barking like a seal all evening.”
Seventh year: “For Pete’s sake, stop sneezing! Are you trying to give me pneumonia?”
I am not sure what you may be feeling concerning your marriage, but my relationship with Jesus has also had its ups and downs. The problem in all my 33 years since the day I entered into a relationship with Jesus was never with Jesus and always with me. I was the one who found myself growing cold. But when I first came to faith in Jesus, I could not get enough about Jesus, nor could I stop talking about Him.
Who is Jesus to you today? Have you grown weary of spending time with Him? When you sing in church is it more about what you like about the song than it is about who we are singing about? Do you find reading your Bible to be boring? Do you find being around His people to be irritating? Is it possible that your problem is less about music, the church you attend, and your spiritual lethargy, and more about what you have forgotten and left behind?
I don’t want you to feel worse about where you are at spiritually. But if you are experiencing a loss of awe and wonder, if you are less grateful for the miracle of your salvation, if you are motivated by duty instead of delight for God, and if you feel pressure to perform, you have lost your first love just as the church in Ephesus did. But here is the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way any longer! Listen to what Jesus said to the church in Ephesus and what He is saying to you: “Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:5).
Here is what Jesus tells us we can do to get back to our first love: Rember where you have fallen, repent by recognizing what led you away from Jesus so that you do not do it again, and return to Jesus by serving and loving on His people. It is quite simple:
Remember the things you did that deepened your love for Jesus and His people.Repent by beginning to do the things that fueled your love for Jesus and His people.Return by finding ways to spend time with Jesus and ways you can serve with His people.
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Freedom in the Desert
11 jan· Meadowbrooke Church
Men's Breakfast - January
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Rejoicing in Suffering
5 jan· Meadowbrooke Church
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Rom 5:1-11 ESV)
As we begin a new year, many of us are filled with hope and expectation. We set resolutions and goals in anticipation of making even more of the year ahead. However, we don’t really have control over the actual outcomes. Illness can beset us. We may experience the sudden loss of someone close to us. National or global events beyond our control can intrude upon our lives, affecting our businesses, jobs, or financial situations. On top of the uncertainty of life, we are constantly bombarded with stories of what could potentially go wrong. Will the stock market crash and take your retirement fund along with it? Will the economy enter a recession and cause my company or department to downsize? What if this country goes to war with that country? Now, the question that I want to address today is: how do we, as Christians, think about and address the uncertainty of this world and suffering when it happens to us and those close to us?
When contemplating this passage in Romans, I thought of a story and what it means to rejoice in suffering as a believer in the risen Messiah. This story is about a Chicago lawyer and businessman named Horatio Spafford. Now, Horatio had invested much of his wealth in real estate in the city.
Unfortunately, most of these properties, and thus much of his investment, were reduced to ash during the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. The fallout from this loss and the work that he and other property owners in Chicago had to undertake to rebuild and restore would take years. The scale of this tragedy cannot be overstated. Over 17,000 buildings were destroyed, and more than 100,000 people (1/3 of Chicago’s population) were homeless. If this were not enough, the Spafford’s young son died of scarlet fever at the age of four not long after the fire.
A couple of years after the fire, Horatio decided to take his family on a trip to Europe to escape the constant work and stress of rebuilding. Who wouldn’t want to get away after all that had happened? He and his family were also going to meet up with and help the famous evangelist D.L. Moody, who was working on the continent at the time. However, some urgent business came up that needed his attention as the trip neared, so Horatio sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him.
One week after the ship set sail, it was violently struck in an accident by another boat at two in the morning. Because of how the ships collided, the vessel the Spafford family was on sank within 12 minutes. Of the 313 people on board, 226 perished. All four of Horatio’s daughters perished that night. His wife, Anna, was found unconscious, held up by floating debris. Nine days after the accident, Anna landed in Europe and sent a telegram. It read, “Saved alone. What shall I do?”
Upon receiving the message, Horatio booked the first passage he could find. However, this was during the 1800s, so this was far from a rapid process. One night, the captain called Horatio aside and informed him that they were currently sailing over the location where the ship carrying his family had sunk. As I contemplate this situation, I can’t help but ask myself how I would have responded. Would I be overcome by anguish or anger? Would I have broken down and wept or shouted out words of rage at God for allowing such a thing to happen? Instead of either of these things, Horatio returned to his cabin to attempt to try to sleep and felt a sense of comfort and hope overcome him. He wrote down these words, “It is well; the will of God be done.” These words would soon become his timeless hymn that resounds with so many gospel truths. The name of that hymn is “It Is Well with My Soul.”
It is worth reflecting on that there is a similar story in the Bible. Job, the man God Himself called blameless and upright, lost everything he owned in a single day. Additionally, his sons and daughters all died that very same day. Job responded to these events with the statement, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Notice the similarities? These are not words of quiet resignation or defeat. The LORD may give, and He may take away. In the words of Horatio, the will of God will be done. However, regardless of what happened to these two men, their response is instructive and encouraging beyond belief. Despite what comes, the believer can say, “Blessed be the name of the LORD,” and “It is well with my soul.”
Now, these stories may be inspiring, but you’d be right in asking, “How do I develop that kind of abiding faith and trust in God?” It is so easy to marvel at the faith of others. But the reality is that knowing the stories is not enough. These same types of tragedies, and many more besides, can happen in our lives. Thankfully, as in all things, God does not leave us alone. And I know this because the verses we are looking at today have been my anchor through the most challenging times in my life. They acted as my north star, the way that God guided me through trials and kept me traveling on the path that leads to Him. So, let’s dive in.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The chapter opens with the word, therefore. This means that what Paul, the apostle who wrote this letter, is about to say directly follows what he has already said. It is essential to keep this at the forefront of our minds as we read scripture; what is the context? Uncountable numbers of irresponsible teachings have come through taking verses out of context and misapplying them. So, let’s take a high-level view of what was said in the letter before our passage today. Paul was writing to the believers in Rome in anticipation of him traveling there, something he had long wanted to do. He wanted to accomplish several things. The letter to the Romans primarily concerns the gospel; Paul wanted to unify the church in Rome around the good news of Christ. Romans is a great place to start if you want a comprehensive understanding of the gospel message. Additionally, Paul wanted to prepare for the missionary journey he was planning to Spain; he wanted the Roman believers to help him on his way after he was able to visit them. Finally, Paul wanted to get in front of a growing division in the church between Jewish and Gentile believers. The focus for our study today aligns with the primary purpose for which Paul was writing: the good news of what Jesus has done. Or, as we more commonly call it, the gospel.
Paul starts his letter by pointing to the grandeur of the universe as proof of God’s existence and that we can even learn some things about Him through creation. However, many, instead of worshiping the God who created everything, worshiped the things He made.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:20-25)
Paul addressed this because pagan worship was the norm in the Roman Empire. It is important to note here that the people Paul is talking about were the ones who exchanged God for created things in nature. God allowed them to choose and gave them up to what they wanted. N.T. Wright perhaps sums up this concept best.
“You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship.” N.T. Wright
This is a critical point that Paul made. It spoke directly to the heart of Roman culture and society. And it speaks directly to ours as well. The Romans, like the Greeks, worshipped a pantheon of gods who were very human in nature. They were spiteful, filled with lust, and sought their own pleasure above the good of others. Paul was saying that if you venerate that type of activity, you will act the same way. Now, consider our culture today; we may not wrap it up in religious language and ritual, but it is the same. Think about the lyrics of many of the most popular songs today. Consider the lives and actions of celebrities and others that our society lifts up and puts on a pedestal. Reflect on how often we are told in advertising by the rich, powerful, and famous how if we only buy this item or consume this service, we will be as happy and fulfilled as they are, or supposedly are. Think about how society as a whole treats marriage as trivial or that it is entirely ok to objectify other human beings, especially with what is deemed acceptable to view on the internet for our own pleasure.
Paul then addresses those who did know about the one true God, namely the Jewish nation. However, instead of commending them, Paul has a very different message. What he said was precisely what Jesus did. It doesn’t matter that you come from the line of Abraham or how well you know the Old Testament Law. God cares about and judges people based on what we actually do.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. (Rom 2:12-13)
And if we stop for a minute and honestly look at our own lives, this is what we see. We know at our core that there is an absolute standard for good and evil. We know that saying one thing and then doing another is both hypocritical and wrong. We have all, myself included, done things that genuinely hurt other people, damaged relationships, and were contrary to what we know in the deepest parts of ouor being are good and right and holy. Paul quoted the Psalms to sum up this point.
10 “None is righteous, no, not one;11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Rom 3:10b-12)
Now, this is a pretty bleak letter so far. This is not something that you read at the beginning of a year to feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We’re left with all of these questions that seem pretty important and rather urgent. What if there is a creator of the universe? Spoiler alert: there is. And what if He genuinely cares about right and wrong and how we treat each other? Another spoiler alert: He does. If we’ve all fallen short, and there are consequences for that, is there something that can be done to restore ourselves to God? And here is the best spoiler alert: There is. Paul tells us how this happens.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood (Rom 3:21-25a, NIV)
And there it is, the gospel, the good news that Paul based his entire letter around. There is a God who created both us and the universe we live in. He is perfectly good and, therefore, has made a moral law that we all are to live by. However, all of us fall short and sin. This causes a separation between us and God. However, God did not see fit to leave us as we are. He sent Jesus to live the life we never could and die the death we deserved so that we could be reconciled to Him. This is the good news that Paul was proclaiming.
So, we return to the opening verses of our passage today.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We now see what the “therefore” is there for. We were separated from God, but we can now be justified before him by faith. And because of this good news, that we have been justified by faith, certain things happen in the believer's life. First, we have peace with God. You see, it wasn’t that we were just separated from God. We were, in fact, working against Him and were enemies.
In another letter, Paul said, “21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Col 1:21-22, NIV). We just wrapped up an extremely deep study of the book of Ephesians here at Meadowbrooke. Remember what we were told in that letter about the state we were in before being saved?
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)
When Paul says that we now have peace with God, he doesn’t mean that we have a tranquil state of mind or something like that. Instead, when we become followers of Jesus, we go from being against God or an enemy of God to having peace with Him. Remember what Paul said earlier in the letter. Nobody is righteous; nobody does good.
But it doesn’t stop there. We aren’t just in some truce or ceasefire with God. What has happened is so much more glorious and incredible than that. We also, through Jesus, have obtained grace. Now, grace can be a mysterious-sounding religious word. All it means is that somebody has received unmerited or unearned favor. It means we don’t deserve the favor or good things God freely bestows on us. Remember, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God; we all were, by nature, children of wrath. The Greek word that is translated here as “access” literally means “to approach” or “to bring into.” We are brought into God’s grace and can actually have a personal relationship with Him. How much has changed because of what Jesus has done for us. We who were enemies not only have peace with God but also can draw near to Him and have a personal relationship with our Creator.
Finally, we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And given what we have just read, there is so much to rejoice in. But again, there is something even more glorious behind these words. We rejoice not just in our newfound peace with God or our ability to be brought into His grace. We rejoice in the hope of something else. The word “hope” in our English language is quite weak. Typically, it means something like, “I hope this year is better than the last” or “I hope my team wins the Super Bowl this year.” It expresses the desire for something to be true, but with the realization that it may not turn out that way. However, the Greek word employed here means something more like “joyful and confident expectation.” Our hope is in something that we are confident and sure of. Tim Keller remarked on this passage that, “Christian hope is not a hopeful wish – it is a hope-filled certainty.”
But what is it that we are hopeful for? If we were to poll random people about what they most hoped for or were most looking forward to regarding the promises of God, we would likely get a broad range of answers. Many would almost certainly revolve around seeing loved ones again or being eternally happy and without pain or suffering. However, notice what Paul says here. His focus is on the glory of God. More than his own happiness or desires, the reason for Paul’s rejoicing is in the hope of being in the presence of God’s glory.
John Murray remarked on this passage, “[Believers] are interested in the manifestation of the glory of God for its own sake. The glory of God is their chief end and they long for and hasten unto that day when with undimmed vision they will behold the glory of God in its fullest exhibition and vindication.”
What this means is that the hope of the Christian is not in the hope of our wants, desires, and comfort. Instead, our hope is in being with and living within the glory of God. The focus is on God, not on us. John Piper put this better than anybody else I have heard.
He said, “The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?” Paul’s answer would be a resounding no. What makes the restored heaven and earth what they will be is that we will finally be with God in all His infinite glory. Everything else pales in comparison to that. And any heaven without that is no real heaven at all.
Now, Paul has covered a lot of ground in his letter so far. The people listening to this being read for the first time would have been on a real rollercoaster of a ride. First, they heard about this God who is powerful and mighty enough to create the entire universe in which we live. But then they heard that this God is also perfectly good and, therefore, has a moral law. They, just like all of us, broke that law. And they, just like us, broke it repeatedly. They heard about how this created a separation between humanity and God, a chasm we could not overcome ourselves. However, when everything seemed lost and without hope, they heard about how God, through Jesus, redeemed them, and they were now justified. This justification was not through anything they had done but what Jesus had done for them. They heard that they did not have to try to earn God’s merit, and in fact, they never could. They heard that what God really sought after was their hearts and faith in Him. Finally, because of that faith, the believer has peace with God, access to God’s grace, and the hope-filled certainty of witnessing God in His full glory one day. What an experience it must have been to be the first people to hear this letter being read. Can you imagine hearing this fantastic news?
Then, the church in Rome would have heard the words, “Not only that…” Wait! There is more!?! What more could there be after being told this fantastic news? I can only imagine sitting there and anticipating new promises and hopes the apostle was about to relay. Instead, the audience heard, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.” Wait… what? We rejoice in our suffering? Weren’t we talking about drawing close to God and witnessing His glory?
But this is reality, isn’t it? When we decide to follow Jesus, all the hardships and suffering we’ve experienced don’t magically disappear. We still get sick. Our finances don’t magically improve; we all don’t suddenly receive private jets and mansions. We still lose loved ones, and we all certainly still experience getting older and all the wear and tear that comes from that.
As I reflect upon this past year, the single word that comes most to mind is “difficult.” This was a challenging year for our church family, and we had to go through things, including church discipline and the termination of a staff person in a pastoral role. Individuals and families in our church have also been going through extremely difficult things. There have been cancer diagnoses, losses of family members, struggles with chronic illnesses, sudden visits to the ER, heart issues, urgent and completely unexpected surgeries, and many, many more things besides. Personally, this last year, especially the past six months, has, if I’m being completely honest, been extremely difficult. Due to an autoimmune disease, my health spiraled to a place I have not experienced in over a decade. This resulted in a 10-day stay in a hospital after losing 15% of my body weight and a substantial amount of internal bleeding. But, more importantly, it put a lot of strain on my marriage and meant I was less present as a father than I should be. The stark reality is that suffering is still a part of our lives. It has real impacts on us and those around us. But, as we’ll see, faith in Jesus is not about the cessation of pain and suffering but instead giving that suffering over to God in faith that He will use it for good.
Paul lays out how this looks for us:
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Notice here that Paul says we rejoice in our sufferings, not because of our sufferings. Paul does not say that suffering suddenly becomes pleasurable for us or trivially easy to endure. He does not say that God is giving us a way to prove ourselves to Him or earn His favor by persevering through hardship. Instead, we rejoice in our sufferings because of something we know. We know that suffering can produce something within us. That something is endurance. For most of my life, and by that, I mean since I was eight, I have participated in endurance sports. This has included distance running, cycling over 100 miles in a day over multiple mountain passes, and summiting 20,000 ft peaks. I bring this up because I have learned a lot about myself and quite a bit about endurance through these activities.
The first is that endurance is not something magical you hope to have on the day of your event. It is something that you train for diligently. It may take months or even years in some cases to train your body and mind to accomplish the goal you have set before yourself. It is possible to train and not reach the goals you set. However, if you don’t train, the goals will forever remain out of reach. And the thing about training is that a substantial amount of suffering can be involved. Mile repeats hurt. Hill training on a bike can be painful. Interval sessions have left me draped over the handlebars of my indoor trainer like a rag doll. Watching cyclists or other endurance athletes achieve the incredible can be awe-inspiring, often making it look easy. However, it isn’t. What we witness when we watch world-class athletes is the outcome of a lifetime of training and preparation.
And I can tell you from experience, every day I’ve had where I’ve looked like this, cycling up mountain passes feeling in great shape and like I could tackle the biggest of obstacles, I’ve had many more days where I’ve looked a bit more like this.
The key here is that, like in athletics, in life, endurance is not something that happens automatically or magically. It is something that is produced. And often, the production of endurance happens through the crucible of suffering.
But, unlike endurance training for sports, the type of endurance Paul talks about is not the end goal. It serves a greater purpose. You see, our character is also changing when we develop spiritual endurance. Now, this word in Greek doesn’t just mean something like, “He is a really good person and has good character.” Instead, it is about something proven, or something tested and found to be approved. An example of this can be seen in Paul’s letter to the Philippians concerning his protégé, Timothy.
22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. (Phil 2:22)
The phrase “proven worth” is the same word that is translated as character. And to some extent, we’ve all experienced this. If we have endured something before, when we have to endure it again, there is a confidence we didn’t have before. Or, thought of in a different way, if you had to go into battle with somebody, would you rather go with a special forces soldier who had been on multiple deployments or somebody who has never been through military training but plays their fair share of Tom Clancy video games? The choice is easy, right? What Paul is saying here is that when we go through suffering, endurance is produced. And when we endure our trials and tribulations, we are tested successfully or, as Paul says, our worth is proven.
But Paul does not stop there. He says that this “testedness” produces something else: hope. And here we return to this idea of hope. Remember, this idea Paul is talking about can be best thought of as “a hope-filled certainty.” As we go through suffering, the endurance and character that result produces an ever-greater certainty that God is exactly who He has said He is and that His promises are sure. Paul then offers a proof of this. He states that hope will never put us to shame because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. In fact, the relationship between the believer and the Holy Spirit is so close that he has been poured into our hearts.
I had mentioned earlier that these verses have been my anchor verses through suffering. That is not an understatement in any way. I had grown up in the church. In fact, I heard hymns and the words of the Bible before I was born. As I grew up, I did all the church things, camps, and confirmation; I even started participating in lay-level leadership roles in my church. If any of those things sound a bit foreign, it is because I grew up in the Episcopal tradition. Ultimately, instead of letting God into my heart and being the Lord of my entire life, I was going through the motions. Especially in college, my life looked no different than anybody else’s. Remember those verses from Ephesians about living in the passions of our flesh and carrying out the desires of the body and the mind? That was me. Until that is, God got ahold of my heart. A group of us in ROTC decided that we wanted to start getting serious about our faith and started going to church together. We formed our own Bible study and as a small community of college-aged believers, we began trying to figure out what it meant to be Jesus followers.
To make a long story very short, one of the members of this group would ultimately become my wife. As we deepened in our faith together as a group, I was drawn to what God was doing in her life. However, two weeks after we started dating, I started noticing an immense amount of pain in my abdomen and, even more concerning, evidence of internal bleeding. I started losing weight at an alarming rate and was ultimately diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called ulcerative colitis. Effectively, my immune system goes into overdrive and starts attacking and causing ulcers and a crazy amount of inflammation in my large intestine. Unfortunately, I have a rather severe form of the disease that affects not just a part of the intestine, but the entire thing. As is common with autoimmune diseases, finding the therapy that worked for me took a long time. Because of the severity of my diagnosis, this ultimately led me to being hospitalized seven times in the first 18 months following the onset of my symptoms.
In addition to the pain, frustration, and confusion over what was happening, other things also started falling apart. A military career was now no longer an option for me. Because of the impact the disease was having on my body, I was sleeping 12-16 hours a day and was unable to continue pursuing my master's program. What is more, because of how the insurance I had purchased through the university was structured, it did not cover costs from chronic illnesses beyond $20,000. But through it all, God was working on my heart and my mind. He was showing me things about himself that I would likely never have learned had it not been for this. He was teaching me that my future job was not what defined me. Who I am in Jesus is what defines me. He was teaching me that the highest goal in life is not academic or professional achievement (I’m a bit of an A-type personality and struggle with making my life about accomplishments). Instead, He showed me that following Him is the highest purpose in life.
Now, perhaps the most incredible thing about this entire story is that Michaela stayed by my side throughout all of it. We had only recently started dating, but she was there for everything. I can still remember her voice as I was coming out of anesthesia after the scoping procedure that resulted in the diagnosis of the disease. I was insanely sick, my planned career was completely shattered, treatments weren’t working, and I had a sum of medical debt that was growing increasingly large. There were so many times when I felt absolutely lost and without hope. Yet, because of this community of people, especially Michaela, I was constantly reminded of God's goodness and how He works all things for the good of those who love Him, even if we don’t see it in the moment. The Bible was my source of refuge, reminding me of the eternal promises of God that transcend our momentary afflictions.
Things ultimately improved for me, and through a lot of help from my doctors and a lot of prayer, my condition was able to be controlled. There were still some rough points, and I experienced the occasional flare-up, but things returned to normal. Michaela and I got married, we found a way to pay off the medical debt, and life seemed to be going just fine. But what I didn’t know at the time was that as I was going through all my medical issues and seeing Michaela’s character displayed, God was showing me what it means to stand beside somebody as they are suffering.
About two years after we got married, Michaela started showing symptoms of something, but the doctors couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally, they had her stay on a heart monitor for an extended time, and the results were so concerning that the hospital in Laramie told us that we needed to come to the hospital here in Cheyenne because they were not prepared to deal with whatever the issue was. When Michaela arrived here, they took an Xray, and they found out that there was a mass about 12cm in diameter in her chest next to her heart. We were once again told that she needed to go to another hospital because the one here had no idea what was going on. However, this time, she had to travel via ambulance. We had come in the same vehicle, but as she was leaving in an ambulance, I followed in the car we brought over. It was such a good thing that it was the middle of the night because I was an absolute mess. If there had been any traffic whatsoever, I probably would have crashed. On that drive, I was confronted with an absolutely petrifying truth. There was nothing I could do for my wife but pray. I was helpless in the face of whatever it was that she had to face. I could not protect her, and I could not save her. And this was an earth-shattering realization for me. Of course, we all intellectually know that our time here is limited and that when it is time for us to leave this world, there is nothing we can do to stop it for ourselves or those we love. However, facing that reality directly is an entirely different notion. The radical realization that I had was that in this situation, she was entirely in the Lord’s hands. The even more radical realization I would only have reflecting later on, was that this is true every moment of every day. I just don’t live like it.
To capture this idea in his book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” This has been precisely my experience. The eternal truths that God exists, that we desperately need Him, and that He alone is sufficient for all our needs are sometimes most clearly heard when we are in our most desperate times of need.
Upon arriving at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, we learned that the mass was a tumor, and it was an advanced stage of lymphoma. The doctors recommended that she start an aggressive form of chemotherapy immediately. We didn’t have time to go home and talk about it. We didn’t have time to prepare in case the therapy made it difficult or impossible to have kids. It was almost as if everything had been put onto tracks, and we were just along for the ride. Now, soon after all of this happened a good friend of mine who has been a mentor in many ways to me came by and prayed with us. Her prayers included pleas for healing, comfort, and everything else we typically lift up to God during these types of events. However, she prayed something else as well. She prayed that our hearts and minds would be open to what God had to teach us during this time of trial. It literally felt like a physical switch turned in my head. Despite all that I had been through, and all God had done in my own heart during my battles with illness, I had not stopped to consider that God may have something to teach us here as well. And teach He did. I learned how incredibly strong of a woman He made when He created my wife. I learned that I am not sufficient for her; only Jesus is. I learned that life can be extraordinarily fleeting and what we consider normal and act like will go on forever can end in an instant.
Michaela spent the following months going to Denver for a week of treatment every three weeks. I tagged along and slept on the pullout bed on the couch in her room. That was our lives for almost four months: two weeks at home and one in the hospital. When I had to travel for work, her mom took my place. Now, you may be wondering who the better caretaker in our relationship is when the other is undergoing adversity. The answer is Michaela. You may also be wondering who deals with suffering better. The answer is also Michaela.
Ultimately, Michaela completed the chemo regimen and has been in full remission for almost 10 years. Despite not being able to make alternative preparations, we have two incredible boys who are miracles in the fullest sense of the word. It can be easy to praise God and extol His greatness when things work out the way we hope and pray they will. However, there will come a day when I and everybody else whom I love will draw in their last breath. And in those moments, God still deserves all the glory and all the praise. I want to relay one more story before I wrap up about one of those times.
My stepmom’s father, my grandfather, or as we called him, Papou (that part of my family is Greek), had been extremely sick for a long time. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His wife, my Yaiyia, was a missionary in Kenya when he proposed to her in a letter. After starting their young family, they moved to Athens so he could pastor a church while they served as missionaries. When they moved back to the States, their home was always a place of love where all were welcome. Toward the end of his life, he was unable to care for or even feed himself and had to be placed in a home to receive the care he needed. As the end of his life was drawing ever closer, he came down with a severe infection that left him almost entirely incapacitated. One day, some of our dearest family friends were visiting him. As they prepared to leave, everybody gathered to pray, potentially for the last time, over this man who had lived his life faithfully for God. However, before anybody else had a chance to speak, this saint (by the way, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a saint as well) who could not feed himself or even sit up started to pray. I was not there to hear these words, but they still reverberate in the deepest part of my being more than a decade later. “Our precious heavenly father,” he said, “we just can’t thank you enough. You have been so good to us.”
That is the strength that a life lived in the service and love of God bestows upon a person. The Christian lives not in quiet resignation in the face of a world that can be so cruel and cause so much suffering. Instead, the Christian can raise a triumphant cry that in our weakness, the strength of the Lord will be made perfect, and that is enough. We can, as Job did, bless the name of the Lord, come whatever may. We see this in the letter to the Corinthians:
9 But he [God] said to me [Paul], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-11)
This is why Paul ends this passage with a reiteration of the gospel message. Even though each of us who follow Jesus has the real experience of having the Holy Spirit residing within us, there also is an objective truth for all to see. Christ came and died for us while we were still sinners. And this point is even more important than the point that we are physically broken and endure sufferings in this world. That point is that we are spiritually broken and separated from God, desperately in need of a Savior. Reflect with me on these closing verses.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Jesus did not wait until we were perfect and had everything figured out before he came to die in our place. Instead, he came when we were still in sin, weak, and enemies of God. Unlike us, who so often act out of self-regard or do something because we view somebody as good and deserving, Jesus came to save us while we were still standing in complete opposition to God. This is the incredible news of the gospel. As much pain and suffering, as much physical brokenness that we may experience in this world, it is nothing compared to the spiritual sickness we suffer because of our separation from God. We all were far from God before coming to Christ, but he died in our place regardless and rose again, conquering death. We are justified, reconciled, and saved by what he did. And if you don’t know Jesus yet, all you must do is accept him as your Lord and Savior and begin walking with him.
Before we leave, I wanted to review some of the things I have learned from other believers and scripture about how to endure times of suffering. None of this is groundbreaking, but it works.
Don’t wait until you are in suffering to prepare – If you wait until the morning of a marathon to train, it won’t go well for you. The same is true here. If you wait until the moment of your trial to prepare, you are too late.Be in your Bible daily – The stories of those who suffer in scripture are incredibly instructive and helpful. The principles you will learn from this book will help you in your time of need. But I never would have had these verses constantly in my mind and nourishing my soul if I had not read them. God uses scripture to help His followers in their time of need.Build relationships with fellow believers—When Michaela and I have experienced times of suffering, it is the people of God, the Church, who have helped us more than anybody else. I have experienced the benefit of having somebody just come sit with you. Recently, while I was in the hospital, several friends visited throughout my stay. Mostly, we talked about the goodness of God. It helped me raise my eyes above my situation and stay focused on my Lord and Savior.Pray without ceasing – Pray for those who are going through trials. Ask others to pray for you as you endure suffering. The Church was designed so that each member could help one another. And as you pray, follow God’s Spirit in how you can help. If you feel drawn to visit somebody who is ailing, go. If you feel called to cook them a meal, do it.Look for what God is trying to teach you – Until our dying breath, we are running our race. As believers, we are walking down that narrow path that leads to Jesus. That path can be difficult and filled with obstacles sometimes. But even in our worst suffering, God is faithful, and He works all things for the good of those who love Him. If you let Him, He will develop in you: endurance, character, and a hope which will never be put to shame. Even in our greatest trials, He is still so incredibly good.
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Rahab, A New Beginning
29 dec 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
Many of us are probably familiar to some extent with Rahab, the Jericho prostitute who turns to God and is spared along with her family when the Israelites destroy the city. But there is much more to her story that should cause us to marvel at God’s mercy and grace, and warn us against hypocrisy.
Let’s go look at where we encounter her. Israel had sent out two spies to check out Jericho. They go to the home of Rahab, the prostitute, where presumably it would not be unusual to find strangers. But someone alerts the authorities and Rahab is told to turn over the men. She covers for them and hides them on her roof. A search party begins looking for them near the Jordan River.
Joshua 2:8-21
8 Now before [a]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the [b]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you [c]utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard these reports, our hearts melted and no [d]courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of [e]truth, 13 and [f]spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our [g]lives from death.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our [h]life [i]for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and [j]faithfully with you.”
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “We shall be exempt from this oath [k]to you which you have made us swear, 18 [l]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have [m]his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear.” 21 She then said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
Let’s think about a couple of things. First: How did God communicate with Rahab? By dream? By vision? How did she learn that Yahweh was the one true God? However He did it, we must be humbled by the love and concern God showed to a woman who was part of an accursed tribe and who lived an immoral lifestyle.
Second: Think about the scarlet cord hanging out her window. Where else do we see in Scripture that a red mark protects everyone inside a dwelling? The night of Passover, when the blood of the lamb on the lintel and doorposts protected those who were inside. Here is another picture of Passover, but this one is not protecting Israelites, but pagan Canaanites! Were these Hebrew spies thinking about how their relatives had been spared from wrath by a similar process? Here is an example of faith resulting in right standing with God apart from the Law, just like Abraham, proving that God is no respecter of persons.
Now we pick up in Joshua Chapter 6.
Most of us know how Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, so we will skip to the relevant portion for our study today:
Joshua 6:20-25
“So the people shouted, and [g]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down [h]flat, so that the people went up into the city, everyone straight [i]ahead, and they took the city. 21 They [j]utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, just as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the [k]house of the Lord. 25 However, Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua [l]spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Let’s think about this first from Rahab’s perspective. She and her family have been listening to utter chaos and terror outside her house. The screams of people and animals as they are brutally slaughtered. Then, there is, literally, a deathly quiet, and then there is a knock at the door. With great trepidation, they open the door and step out into a living nightmare. Everything destroyed. All people, all livestock, all structures. Everybody Rahab and her family knew was dead, their corpses lying mutilated on the ground. Spared, but unclean, she and her family are put “outside the camp.” So was Jesus.
Hebrews 13:11-13
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood. So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”
Jesus has a special affinity for those who are rejected, scorned, despised by the in crowd, just as Rahab was and many others. He personally experienced that same rejection, and invites us to journey with Him to where He resides with those whom He has rescued from rejection.
Back to Jericho. Imagine the terror of what Rahab’s family was feeling. You are now totally dependent on these people who just destroyed your city and killed all your friends and neighbors. You are feeling not just terror, but profound loneliness and sense of loss. Imagine if Russians invaded and killed everybody in your city except you, and now you were dependent on them.
What about the other side? As Israelites, you were warned to kill all the Canaanites completely, to avoid being infected with their idols. Now, what do you do with this family? I’m sure some advocated to let them starve. They only promised to spare their lives from the destruction of Jericho. There were no promises about feeding and caring for them. But Rahab knew that Yahweh was the God of heaven and earth. God had somehow revealed Himself to her, and He would not see her abandoned.
But she is a profound sinner, from a foreign culture, filled with idolatrous practices, living in enforced isolation. How does she become discipled, and an important figure in Jewish history? Yes. That is exactly what happens to her, but we have to fill in the details with our imagination. As with the mystery of Melchizedek, sometimes the most profound biblical stories are about what’s left out of the narrative.
There had to have been interaction between Rahab’s family and the Israelites. Probably, there was daily interaction as more merciful heads prevailed and food was delivered to keep them alive. But that doesn’t solve the problem. Keeping her alive doesn’t equate to discipleship.
I can imagine a godly woman provoking her husband to think about these poor people and shouldn’t someone try to teach Rahab and her family about the Lord? I’m sure the idea was met with apprehension at first. “What if we get infected with their idolatry? No, it’s too risky. Too bad they weren’t born Jews.”
Time passes, but somewhere along the line, at least Rahab is discipled, probably by one of those godly wives who kept persisting until her husband acquiesced! Rahab responds and learns well. In fact, she surpasses most of the young Israelite women in her devotion to the Lord, and becomes known for her character and the radical transformation of a changed life. How do we know that? Because of something revealed in the Book of Ruth and a one-sentence reference in Matthew Chapter 1.
So, let’s turn our attention first to Ruth.
If you are not familiar with Ruth, it is a short book packed with depth and meaning. The story centers around a family from Bethlehem, a husband named Elimelech and his wife Naomi. They have two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. A severe drought causes them to move east across the Jordan river to the area of Moab, where Naomi stays for 10 years. While there, her husband dies. Her sons marry Moabite women. But then her sons die, and she is left in Moab with her two daughters-in-law, Orpah, and Ruth. Naomi hears that the drought is gone in Bethlehem and she decides to return, and tries to convince her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab. Orpah does, but Ruth insists on going to Bethlehem with Naomi and staying with her until her death, and will worship the God of Israel. So, they return.
When they arrive in Bethlehem, it is the beginning of the barley harvest, probably mid-April. How to get food? Well, Ruth goes out to glean in the common area which the landowners use, and she just happens to get connected with a man named Boaz. We need to learn something about Boaz. He is described as “gibbor,” which is sometimes translated as “mighty man.” It implies he is a man of substance and character, and when we read Ruth, we are touched by his compassion and concern both for Naomi and for Ruth. He is impressed by Ruth’s devotion to Naomi, and her willingness to seek shelter under Yahweh’s wings.
Interestingly, he is also a kinsman redeemer (Leviticus 25:47-55) to Naomi, and is willing to redeem her land including the necessity of giving her offspring through Ruth, the Moabitess. He was willing to marry a foreign woman. Boaz and Ruth had a child, Obed, who was the grandfather of David. Ruth 4:21-22. So, Ruth the Moabite woman participates in establishing the earthly lineage of the Messiah.
We are told in Ruth 4:21 that Salmon (or Salma) begot Boaz. We don’t know from the account here who Boaz’ mother is, but Matthew clears that up for us.
Matthew 1:5 tells us “Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse.”
Salmon was the father of Boaz, and Boaz’ mother is Rahab. Interestingly, she is not referred to as “Rahab the Harlot,” just Rahab. She is a harlot no more.
Remember, Boaz is a man of influence and character in Bethlehem. There is no doubt that Boaz’ character was formed in large part due to his mother’s influence. She would have had to be a woman of great moral character to attract the attention of Salmon.
Knowing people as we do, we can be sure that Salmon was scorned and rejected by some of his peers for marrying a former pagan harlot. That took a lot of courage on his part. And think about his parents! Let’s say our son came home all excited about this woman he met at a Bible study, who had been a sexual abuse victim by her stepdad, ran away from home, wound up on Colfax Avenue in Denver, was befriended by a man who turned out to be a pimp, got her strung out on fentanyl, and trafficked her as a prostitute? Sound like something that happens every day. But she had been arrested, detoxed, came to Christ while in substance abuse treatment, and was now a very godly young woman in love with Jesus. We love to hear stories like that.
But what if our son decided he wanted to marry her? Would we be accepting of her as a redeemed child of God, or would we be concerned about our family’s reputation, and suggest he seek out a virgin from one of the “good” families from his Awana’s group?
What if your son said, “But what about that verse in Second Corinthians Five?
2 Corinthians 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Is that true, or not?”
Do we feel the conviction of hypocrisy as we contemplate our reaction? Are we interested more in what serves God’s purposes, or being concerned about what our peer group will think?
Remember, God chose Rahab and Ruth (and Tamar, for that matter) to be mothers of men in the lineage of Christ. He did that on purpose to teach us something about His mercy and grace.
No doubt, Boaz’ own family history was a strong influence for him to so readily agree to marry Ruth the Moabitess. He knew his parent’s story, had heard from his mother Rahab about the pain of loneliness and rejection when they lived “outside the camp,” and had no hesitation to marry a foreign woman who so obviously loved God and honored Naomi.
The character of Rahab may also be inferred from Hebrews. She and Sarah are the only two women named in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews Chapter 11). Rahab is also mentioned by James as an example of the works of faith.
(Call up the worship team)
So, who are the Rahab’s in our life? The people who have a checkered past, but who are growing in the Lord? Can we see past who they were, and see what they can become as the Lord changes them? He wants us to see with His eyes, and be His hands and feet to disciple them so they can become the godly Rahab’s of this generation.
The main reason why I love working in the criminal justice system is that I get to participate in God’s mission of making modern-day Rahabs. To see a life in chaos become a godly man or woman is a privilege I have witnessed repeatedly over the past 35 years.
Fact is, none of us come from “good” families. There is only one Good Family, and that consists of all of us, from whatever background, who have repented, been born again, and belong to the body of Christ. We all are new creations in Christ, and our sins—all of them—are forgiven and forgotten by our Lord. May we celebrate our new beginnings every day!
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The Power to Stand Firm
22 dec 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
We come to the end of Ephesians today. At the beginning of his letter to these dear Christians, Paul prayed that they would come to know the significance of what it meant to be a Christian and what it meant to be the Church: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19a). Isn’t this what we want for our own selves? To see with the eyes of our hearts the hope we have because of God’s calling, to wrap our hearts around the profound implications of what it means to belong to God as His inheritance, and to have our hearts full with the reality that the boundless greatness of the power of Almighty God now belongs to those of us who have been redeemed by God’s own Son.
What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be the Church? The answer is provided for us more than 200 times in the New Testament and over 30 times in Ephesians alone; the answer given for what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the Church is that you are a Christian and you belong to His church if you are “in Christ.”
Before He spoke Creation into existence, God chose you and set His love upon you for the purpose that you would be holy and blameless... in Christ (1:4-6). Your sin was not so great to keep you from the love of God, for He made your salvation and redemption possible through His Son who died upon a cross for your sins and lavished His grace upon you (vv. 7-12). You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit which guarantees your complete and total salvation... and He did it “in Christ” (vv. 13-14). Oh, dear Christian, what did you ever do to deserve so great a salvation? Nothing, because all of it was provided for you in and through Christ!
The Christ who was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places is now yours (1:20-21)! The Christ who is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, the One to Whom belongs the obedience of the nations, and He who is head over all things... is now yours (vv. 22-23)! Christian, what did you do to receive Him as yours? You who were once dead in your offenses and sins, was there anything in you that warranted God’s grace? You were listed among the “sons of disobedience,” you “lived in the lusts of your flesh,” you “indulged the desires of the flesh and of the mind,” and because of your sins... you were categorized by the Almighty as a “child of wrath” (2:1-3). What was it about you that compelled God to save you instead of leaving you in your sins? It was His rich mercy, His great love, and His all-sufficient grace that made you alive in Christ (vv. 4-9). You are now in Christ, and all because of Christ!
Now that you have been saved by Christ, you who were once far away have been brought near so that He is now your truth, He is now your righteousness, and He is now your peace (2:11-16). You are now united to Christ and belong to His body (4:1-32). As a member of His body, you now belong to the Bride of Christ, and because you are His Bride, Jesus is cleansing and sanctifying you through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit (5:22-32).
So, when you come to Ephesians 6:10 and read: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” you should know by now where it is that you are able to find that strength. It is found... “in Christ.” We are strong in the Lord when we put on the “full armor of God.” Yet, the irony is that it is already provided because of our union in Jesus. He is our belt of truth, He is our breastplate of righteousness, He is our peace through the gospel, He is our shield of faith, He is our helmet of salvation, and He is our sword of the Spirit. We are stronger in the Lord the more we recognize our weakness and how much we need to pursue Him.
Listen, the only way you will discover how weak you are is by seeing how big God is, how sufficient Jesus is as your Savior, and how powerful the Holy Spirit is as the One who is keeping you.
How We Are to Pray
So here is what I want to do with the remainder of our time together. First, I want to look at how we are to pray and then I hope to show you what that kind of praying is where the power of the armor of God is experienced.
There are four categories of prayer that ought to be a part of our prayer life as Christians listed in Ephesians 6:18. The Greek word that is used four times in verse 18 that can be translated “all” or “every” is the Greek word, “pas” (πᾶς). Some versions of the Bible have chosen to translate pas as “all” every time it is used in verse 18, while others like new version of the NASB translate pas as “every” and “all.” In an effort to make the translation read smoothly, the NASB translates it this way: “With every [pas] prayer and request, pray at all [pas] times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all [pas] perseverance and every request for all [pas] the saints...” So how are we to pray?
We are to pray in ALL ways to God (v. 18a).
What are the ways you can pray? You can pray quietly to God. You can pray vocally to God. You can pray with groups of other Christians to God. You can pray privately to God. You can pray while prostrate on your face to God. You can pray while standing, you can pray while kneeling, and you can pray while walking. You can pray with your eyes closed, you can pray with your eyes open, and you can pray with your head bowed or lifted up. You can pray in all ways to God because of who you are in Christ.
We are to pray at ALL times to God (v. 18b).
You can pray in the evening to God. You can pray in the morning to God. You can pray midday to God. You can pray while suffering, while hungry, while in good health, or when in ill health. It does not matter what the circumstances are or if it is in the early morning hours or in the midnight hour... there is no time when God’s door is shut, or His time limited so that His redeemed children are not permitted to come before Him in prayer.
We are to pray with ALL perseverance (v. 18c).
While we pray in all ways and at all times in the Spirit, we are to do so while alert and do so persistently. We stand between the first advent and the second advent when Jesus will come again as King, until He comes again, we are to remain alert for two reasons: first, while we wait, we are in enemy territory where our adversary is categorized as a roaring lion who longs to destroy and devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Jesus told His disciples that while we wait for His return that we must, “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is” (Mark 13:33). Sinclair Ferguson said of prayer: “Christ is building his church on territory that has been occupied by an enemy. Alertness is always essential when living in a war zone.”[1]
We are to pray for ALL the saints (v. 18d).
In the same way that we pray for ourselves, we must also pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ! We do not just pray for those who we agree with theologically, but for every Christian regardless of where they fellowship, what church they attend, or in what part of the world they live. This also means praying for your spouse, praying for your children, praying for your grandchildren, and anyone else in your world who believes in Jesus. When it comes to their relationship with God, God cares more about their spiritual health than you ever could, so pray expecting that God can do, “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think...” (3:20) in the lives of those saints you pray for more than your imagination can come up with.
There is a fifth way we are to pray: We are to pray in all ways and at all times in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power that makes the armor of God effective so that you can stand strong, stand against the schemes of the devil, and stand firm on the evil day.
The Power of the Armor of God is in Who it Belongs To
To Pray in the Spirit according to Ephesians 6:18 is not to pray in tongues, that is a different type of praying addressed elsewhere in the Bible, but not here. When we pray in the Spirit, we pray with the confidence that we have access to God Almighty who spoke billions of stars into existence with just the word of His power; not only does He hear us as our Heavenly Father, but He can, “do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (3:20) because we are in Christ and He is our Heavenly father. It is the kind of confidence we read about in Romans 8:14-16, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God...”
Do you remember what I said about what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit when we covered Ephesians 4:30 and 5:18 in this sermon series? I said to be filled with the Spirit is not about you getting more of the Holy Spirit, but about the Holy Spirit getting more of you. The more of you that the Holy Spirit has, the more power of the Holy Spirit you will experience! Same is true when it comes to experiencing the strength of the Lord: the more of our hearts, the more of our obedience, and the more of our dependance He has of us... the more of His strength we will experience through His Holy Spirit.
The power of the Armor of God is not in our ability to put it on but in the One who it belongs to! This brings us back full circle from what we read in the first sentence of Ephesians (1:1-14) to Ephesians 6:18-24.
Conclusion
The baby born on the first Christmas and laid in a manger is Christ the Lord! He who was born of a virgin, is the same One who formed Mary in her own mother’s womb. The One who through whom all things were created, was laid in a manger for the purpose of carrying a cross to die for sinners. The One who lived the life we could not, to die a death we deserved is not only our Savior, but our Mediator: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all...” (1 Tim. 2:5–6). The Christ in the manger is ours not because of anything we have done, but because of His victory on the cross and over the grave: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8a).
So, it makes perfect sense that Paul would conclude his letter with a call to all of those who are in Christ to pray in the Spirit in all ways, all the time, with all perseverance, and for all the saints because in Jesus, “we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens...” (Heb. 9:1). If you are a Christian, then one of the things you learn from Ephesians is that you are “in Christ.” To be “in Christ” means that you now share an unbreakable union with Christ because that union was chosen by God the Father, purchased by His Son’s own blood, and sealed by His Holy Spirit. Prayer is the fruit of our union in Christ, prayer is communion we have with God, prayer is the direct access we have to God because of our union in Christ. Prayer is the power source to the strength of the Lord that is available to the Christian with the armor of God.
Jesus is the belt of truth, which is your identity in Him, but the security you have with Jesus as your truth will only be as firm as your understanding and confidence that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Jesus is your breastplate of righteousness, but your confidence in Him as your righteousness will only be as firm as your confidence that His righteousness is all the righteousness that you will ever need. Jesus is the shoes of the gospel of peace, but the extent you will be able to stand firm in the gospel will only be as secure as your understanding of the reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the shield of faith, but your shield will only be as large as your understanding of who He is based on how saturated your faith in the Word of God is. Jesus is the helmet of salvation, but the hope of your salvation will only be as effective as your joy in just how great your salvation really is. Jesus is the sword of the Spirit in that all the word of God points to Him, but your ability to wield the truth of God’s word will only be as effective as you are willing to use it. Prayer is what happens when you understand how weak you are and how big God really is.
Prayer is the evidence that we are growing in our relationship with Christ! Sam Allberry, in his excellent book, One with My Lord, put it this way: “Growth in the Christian life is needing God more, not needing him less. So we will be doing more asking over the years, not less asking. We don’t grow out of prayer, just further into it.”[2] This is why it is only fitting that Paul would conclude his epistle with the appeal to pray at all times! The more we seek God out of a growing awareness of our weakness, the more like Jesus we will become. Again Sam Allberry is spot on: “Prayer is not about bending God to our wills but about expressing our own wills as they are being bent to his.”[3]
Here is the thing though: Our union in Christ is not dependent upon our performance as Christians. Our union in Christ was, is, and forever will be dependent upon the life and faithfulness of Jesus. To the extent that we depend upon Him will determine just how much of our hearts He really has, and to the extent of how much of our minds, our hearts, and our will that He has will determine just how much of His power we will experience in our lives. You will never be less in Him than you already are, but His power will only be experienced in and through your life to the extent of how much of you Jesus really has. So, my question to you dear Christian is simply this: How much of you does Jesus really have?
Oh, dear brother... oh, dear sister in Christ, do you not want to see with the eyes of your heart the hope of His calling, the riches of His inheritance, and know the power of the Holy Spirit (1:18-19a)? Do you not want to know the joy of a life built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as your chief cornerstone (2:20)? Do you not long for the kind of life that comes out of comprehending the width and length and height and depth of what you have in Christ (3:14-19)? Are you not tired of the cheap thrills this world offers when it is through Christ that you can know the kind of satisfaction that comes with walking in a manner worthy of the calling in which you have been called (4:1-3)?
If you understood your union in Christ, you would seek to enjoy the unity we are called to with those who belong to His Church (4:4-6). If you understood what it is that you share with Christ, you would desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit instead of looking for ways to grieve Him (4:30; 5:18). Oh, because of the great redemption you now enjoy, do you not hate the things that displease Him (5:1-13)? Do you not want to come out of this life smelling like the sweet aroma of Christ; can you not hear the Holy Spirit’s call upon your life at this very moment: “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (5:14)?
To be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (6:10), the ability to stand firm against the devil’s schemes, and to be able to resist when the evil day comes... will only be experienced more frequently when you see just how weak you are and how sufficient Christ is in all things, in all ways, for all times, and for all people! In so doing, may we be known for our love for Jesus and in the way we live for Him and serve those around us.
[1] Sinclair Ferguson, Let’s Study Ephesians (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust; 2021), p. 186.
[2] Sam Allberry, One With My Lord (Weaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 151
[3] Sam Allberry, One With My Lord (Weaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 152.
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The Sword of the Spirit
15 dec 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
Ancient warfare was fierce. It was close, it was personal, it was dirty, it was aggressive, it was violent, and it was in your face. In preparation for battle, soldiers lined up in tight formation side by side with about three feet separating each soldier so that they could move freely. Every piece of the armor was critically important: The belt kept everything he was wearing in its rightful place, the breastplate protected his vital organs, his shoes were designed so that he could stand his ground and maintain his footing, his shield helped protected him from any weapon that would pierce such as arrows or spears, and his helmet kept his head on his shoulders, protected his mind, line of sight, and neck. The part of his armor that was designed to defend and to harm was his sword.
The sword used by Rome’s soldiers between 3BC and 3AD was a double-edged short sword known as the Gladius. Roman legionaries whose shield defended them from the fiery arrows of the enemy received advanced training in using the Gladius to slash the exposed kneecaps or throat of their enemies while in formation and carried their Gladius sword on their belt, or sometimes on a shoulder strap.
It was impossible to forget your belt, breastplate, and shoes when marching into battle because those pieces of the soldier’s armor were attached to his person. However, it was possible to leave you shield, helmet, and even your sword back in the camp where it was safe and comfortable, but no skilled and experienced soldier would dare enter battle without those parts of his armor he was required to take up and put on, such as his shield, helmet, and sword.
A modern equivalent to just how foolish it would be for a Roman soldier to forget any part of his armor is a Russian soldier who became the 2022 winner of the Darwin Awards. The Darwin Awards are those awards given to honor Charles Darwin by commemorating “those who improve the gene pool – by removing themselves from it in the most spectacular way possible.” Here is the description of the unnamed Russian soldier who won this award:
You are wearing body armor in a warzone. You spot abandoned Macbook. You want Macbook. Where to hide it? With quick reflexes a Russian soldier slid that Macbook into his chest armor pocket, replacing a ballistic plate designed to save his life.
He was killed in Irpin, and his body was retrieved, providing a hearty laugh for all of Ukraine. 'Instant Karma' They reportedly found a stolen iPad as well. Wonder where the iPad was hidden?
I am no soldier, and although I love my Macbook Pro and have a great deal of respect for the way it is designed, even I know enough that in a warzone it is best to keep the ballistic plate in the chest armor pocket because a Macbook was never designed to stop a bullet. Yet, when it comes to the armor of God, how often do we intentionally or unintentionally replace that which is designed to protect with philosophies, ideologies, feelings, and practices that serve the enemy rather than our own protection?
What is the Sword of the Spirit
We are told what the Sword of the Spirit is in the very same verse: It is the word of God. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible claims at least 3,000 times to be “The Word of the Lord.” In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told: “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness...” We are told in the Old Testament book, Deuteronomy: “...man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord” (8:3), which is a verse Jesus used against the devil when He was being tempted in the wilderness (see Matt. 4:1-11). In the Psalms, we learn of the written word of God: “The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 19:7-8). As it relates to the authority of God’s word, we are instructed through the prophet Isaiah: “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, so all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. But I will look to this one, at one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:1–2).
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible claims at least 3,000 times to be “The Word of the Lord.” The word of God in written form is contained in the 66 books that make up our Bible. When Paul wrote that “all Scripture is inspired by God...”, we believe that it is a reference to all of the Old Testament and New Testament books that make up the Bible that were written over a period of hundreds of years with many different contributors who were all guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that what you have before you is a supernatural book unlike any other book, that is without error. It is upon the word of God, both Old Testament (the prophets) and the New Testament (the apostles) that Jesus’ Church is being built upon (see Eph. 2:19-22). It is the written word of God that has supernatural and transformative power to shape and transform God’s people, for from the imagery of the Roman Gladius the author of Hebrews wrote: “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Regarding the Word of God, Jesus prayed to the Father for His church: “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:14–17). In just one chapter earlier, Paul said that the way Jesus is purifying and sanctifying His church is, “by the washing of the water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:26-27).
So, we know what the word of God is; the question we must answer is how do we use it as the Sword of the Spirit?
How Do We Use the Sword of the Spirit
To answer that question, you need to know something about the two words that are used in reference to the word of God, and they are logos and rhēma. Logos is often translated as word or message. Rhēma is often translated word, saying, or statement. In Hebrews 4:12 and Isaiah 66:2 (in the Greek Septuagint) the word logos is used in reference to the Word of God. In Deuteronomy 8:3 (in the Greek Septuagint) and Ephesians 6:17, the word rhēma is used. So, what’s the point? Both words are used in reference to the written and spoken word of God and its authority is based on the fact that it has come from God.
Listen, every word in the Bible is authoritative because it is the Word of God and is used by the Holy Spirit of God to transform and shape the people of God. When you read or speak out loud the Word of God, as it is given within all 66 books of the Holy Bible, the voice of God is heard through His word. Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:17 are calculated and carefully crafted through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; do not miss what is written: “Take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” God always uses the authority of His own words with the power of His Holy Spirit to transform, change, and divinely challenge!
So, how does one use the Word of God as the offensive sword of the Spirit? Jesus showed us how to use it as an offensive weapon when he was approached three times by the devil. In Matthew 4:1-17 and Luke 4:1-13 we are given the details of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the same wilderness that Israel wondered for 40 years because of their failure to believe and obey the word of God. Each of the temptations Jesus faced was like one of the temptations Israel faced and failed, by sinning.
When Israel was in the wilderness, they complained about their lack of food (see Exod. 16). The devil came to Jesus and tempted Him with these words: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Jesus answered with the word of God from Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written: ‘Man Shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:3-4).In the wilderness, Israel frequently put God to the test, so with the second temptation Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, so that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.” The devil even quoted and twisted Psalm 91 to try to get Jesus to fall into the same sin Israel fell into in the wilderness. Again, Jesus responded rightly and skillfully with the word of God: “You shall not put the Lord Your God to the Test.” (Matt. 4:5-7).In the wilderness and throughout Israel’s history, they were frequently guilty of false worship. In an effort to get Jesus to fall into the same sin, Satan tried to get Jesus to avoid the cross by worshiping him, to which Jesus responded with the sword of the Spirit: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matt. 4:8-11).
Jesus used the sword of the Spirit to counter the Devil’s temptations. Did you ever notice that two of the three temptations Jesus faced were not inherently evil; it is not wrong to eat when you are hungry nor is it wrong to expect God to save you from harm. However, the scheming of the Devil was to try and get the Son of God to not trust the Father’s plan but to use a different plan that would have avoided the cross.
We often counter our temptation to sin with human reason by believing another way is better than God’s way. Think about the way we reason our way out of obedience to God: “I know God’s word says sex is a gift to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage, but we’re in love and we’re going to get married anyway;” or “It’s only a little lie.” Sometimes it is more subtle: “I know God’s word says, ‘there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking...’, but at least it is not a 4-letter word, it’s not gossip if it is a prayer request, it’s just an innocent joke...” “I know that God’s word says that, ‘sexual immorality or impurity’ is sinful, but it’s only a few scenes in the movie.” Or... “It only happens once a month...”
What if we learned from the way Jesus responded to temptation by countering our own with the Word of God? Imagine what would have happened if, in the Garden, Adam responded to the serpent’s temptation with the Word of God?
You can take up the word of God as the sword of the Spirit or you can leave it in its sheath. Here is the thing though, just as handling a sword effectively takes some skill that can only come if you take it out of its sheath, to handle the sword of the Spirit with skill you must take it out and use it. To handle the Word of God with skill, you need to use it by reading it, studying it, memorizing it, and immerse yourself into it so that it can do what God designed it to do, which is to change you, mold you, cleanse you, and guide you. Just as you will never improve your shooting skills if you do not get out to a range and shoot, or a martial artist will only be as skilled as his time in the dojo practicing his techniques, so it is true with handling the word of God with skill. Just as there are resources to improve your aim, or your skills as a martial artist, so there are resources that God has provided through pastors, theologians, scholars, and Christian publishers to improve your skills in handling the word of God.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Some think that this verse is only applicable to pastors, but do you know why we know that is not true? How do we know that every Christian needs to strive to be able to “accurately handle the word of truth”? Because of what Jesus commanded every Christian: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19–20).
Conclusion
Remember that the schemes belong to the devil, but the armor of God belongs to God! The sword of the Spirit is no exception! The list of God’s armor begins with the belt of truth, and it concludes with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. What we have discovered about the armor of God is that the belt of truth is our identity in Jesus, the breastplate of righteousness is our righteousness in Jesus, the shoes of the gospel of peace is our redemption that Jesus has made possible, the shield of faith is provided through Jesus, the helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation in Jesus, and the sword of the Spirit is the word of God that points us back to... Jesus! We learn from the Bible that all the promises of God through His word find their yes and Amen in and through Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor. 19-22).
In fact, Jesus is not only God’s “Yes” to all of His promises, Jesus is God’s most perfect revelation of Himself because He is the living Word of God! In the opening verses of the Gospel of John, we learn that as the Word of God, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” And as the Word of God, He, “became flesh, and dwelt among us...” (John 1:1-14).
Not only is Jesus your belt, not only is He your breastplate, not only is He your peace, not only is He your shield and your helmet... Jesus is your sword! How do you remain strong in the Lord? You must find Him to be your life! In closing, I read something in Iain Duguid’s little book, titled, The Whole Armor of God, what I am about to read to you is the essence of the Christmas message:
As the Word of God, he [Jesus] spoke the world into existence. As the Word of God, he uniquely reveals to us the Father. As the Word of God, he is God’s final communication to this broken and now redeemed world, come to heal the sick, rescue the lost, restore the broken, and lift up the downcast.... The Word of God in its cleansing work serves as a set of shears, a scalpel, and a sword. Ask God to equip you with these three different tools, each one uniquely crafted to help us in the fight against temptation by the world, the flesh, and the devil. All that sanctifying power flows into your life through the work of the Holy Spirit applying his Word. And when you fail and fall, as you often will, the Sword of the Spirit points you back again to the fact that the gospel is still true and Christ’s power is still sufficient to keep you safe and bring you at last into your heavenly inheritance.[1]
[1] Iain M. Duguid, The Whole Armor of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2019), pp. 101-02.
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The Helmet of Salvation
8 dec 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
On the first Christmas, an angel appeared to some shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks at night. We are told that at the angel’s appearing, the shepherds were “terribly frightened.” The angel announced to the shepherds: “And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10–12).
The Christmas story does not begin with the shepherds, or with the angel’s visit to Mary with the words: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33). The story of Christmas began long before the promise made to Mary’s fiancé, Joseph: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20b-21).
The story of Christmas begins in Genesis 1:1 with the words: “In the beginning.” It involves an antagonist (the devil), it is all about a hero (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit), and it is about our need to be rescued (we have a sin problem). The story of Christmas is a story that transforms unlike any other story; it is a story identified by one word in the Bible, and that word is, “Gospel” which means, “good news.” Of this good news, the apostle Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Rom. 1:16).
The Christmas story is about the promised savior born to be king—the Lion of the Tribe of Judah from whom, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Gen. 29:10). Christmas is the ancient promise that the Son of David would be unlike any other king in that God would, “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:13). The coming King who would save His people from their sins would be “Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14)—God with us.
What is the Helmet of Salvation?
Like the soldier’s shield, the helmet could be taken of and put back on. The helmet of the Roman soldier was made of bronze and had cheek pieces to provide protection to his head. Like the breastplate of righteousness, Paul draws his language from Isaiah 59:17, “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a cloak.” If you recall from my sermon on the breastplate of righteousness, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 who was, “pierced for our offences, and was crushed for our wrongdoings” is the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, which begins with these words: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear” (v. 1). The One who is able to save is the One to Whom righteousness and salvation truly belongs.
When redemption and righteousness was beyond the reach of sinful humanity, Immanuel “put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head” and was born of a virgin to save us from our sins. But what does it mean to be saved from our sins, and is salvation something that can be taken up and put off like a helmet? To answer those questions we must answer what “salvation” is.
Salvation literally means, “preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.” In the strictest and most biblical sense, salvation is something that has happened in the past, but it is also happening in the present, and yes... it is also something that will happen in the future. In other words, Jesus came to save his people from their sins so that they can be saved from the past, the present, and in the future, from the full curse of sin. How so? Well, think about what was announced: Jesus came to save His people from their sins.
When Adam and Eve sinned, all of creation was brought under a curse, and that curse includes not only our propensity to sin against God, but also death and the vandalizing of a peace with God all of humanity was intended to enjoy. Here is what the Bible says: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned...” (Rom. 5:12). So, when it comes to our salvation, Timothy Keller said, “The Bible says every Christian stands in the middle of three tenses of their salvation. You can’t understand the glory and the beauty of it unless you see it. In fact, you won’t be able to understand the Scripture and you won’t be able to understand what’s happening to you if you don’t understand.”[1]
We stand in the past tense of our salvation: You have been saved from the penalty of sin and pardoned from your guilt and now have been covered under the righteousness of Christ and are justified before a holy God (1 Pet. 3:18). We stand in the reality that we have been saved from the penalty of sin!
We stand in the present tense of our salvation: You are being saved in the sense that God is changing you through the power of His Holy Spirit. The evidence of your nature to sin is still there and the struggle against your own sin is very real, but each moment that you move closer to death on this side of eternity is one step closer to Christlikeness. This is the fight I was talking about last week. In this present life you, Christian, “fight the good fight of the faith” and by doing so, we “take hold of the eternal life to which you have been called” (1 Tim. 6:12). We stand in the reality that we are being saved from the power of sin!
We stand in the future tense of our salvation: Because we have been saved from the penalty of sin and we are being saved from the power of sin because Jesus, as the Divine Warrior of Isaiah 59, is able and will indeed rescue us from all sin. The third verse in the carol, Joy to the Word, rightly states:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground;He comes to make his blessings flowFar as the curse is found.
Jesus came to save us from our sins in the sense that He will make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found, and on that day: Death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54), what is mortal will be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4), sorrow and singing will flee away (Isa. 51:11), every tear will be wiped away (Rev. 21:1-4), and all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5). We stand in the reality that we will be saved from the presence of sin... forever and will receive a better and more glorious Eden!
The salvation that Jesus came to deliver is not something we take off and put on again, so what then is the helmet of salvation? According to 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation: “But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” Because we are saved, being saved, and will be saved... we live in the hope of our salvation no matter what the enemy launches at us or does to us, “the night is almost gone, and the day is near” (Rom. 13:12).
How Do You Take Up the Helmet of Salvation?
To take up the helmet of salvation is to live in the reality that this mortal life is not the end and that you are now, and forever will, remain a child of the living God!
The helmet of salvation protects your head, it protects your mind, it protects your line of sight so that you can see the hope that is yours in Christ. When things in life seem to go south, when this life is shortened by disease, when this world’s resources are stripped away, when the proverbial rug is pulled from underneath, and when it seems that all in this world is lost... you can respond with gospel-centered hope: “For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison...” (2 Cor. 4:17).
The helmet of salvation is the assurance of our salvation! Listen, there are two dangers that every person faces if they are a part of any Bible teaching and gospel centered church. The first danger is to believe that you are a Christian when you are not. If you believe that you can believe in Jesus with your mind for the salvation of your soul with little consequence to the way you are living your life today, then you may not be a genuine Christian.
True saving faith is to believe and trust that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is enough for the salvation of your soul; the evidence that you genuinely believe and trust in Jesus as your savior will be evidenced in your standing in your past salvation, present salvation, and hope in your future salvation. Do not forget Ephesians 2:8-10! You were saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and the purpose for your salvation is stated in verse 10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Genuine saving faith in Jesus will be evidenced by a changing life that looks more and more like Jesus’ life over the years.
The second danger you face in the local church is that the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation. If the enemy can get you to doubt your salvation successfully, he will have a better chance of tempting you to live closer to your sin rather than closer to Jesus as your savior. When you take up the helmet of salvation, you stand in the shoes of the gospel of peace, with your identity in Christ firmly belted around your waist, the righteousness of Christ securely fastened over your chest, so that you can take up your biblically saturated faith. When the devil attempts to undermine your salvation, you can take up your helmet of salvation knowing that only because of Jesus, there is no condemnation for you (Rom. 8:1)!
When you take up your helmet of salvation in the enemy’s presence, you do so with confidence, knowing: “...that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). When the attacks come and the devil or your flesh is all up in your face to tempt you to doubt the sufficiency of Christ, you take up your helmet of salvation with the assurance of 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, “But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed...” (2 Cor. 4:7–9).
How do you know that the salvation Jesus provided is enough? The One born to save His people from their sins is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” promised long ago (Isa. 9:6-7). He is the promised King whose, “times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). The One born King of the Jews is He who was declared long before His birth through the virgin Mary: “I am the first and the last, and there is no God besides Me” (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:17-18). Jesus can save because He is the righteous Branch of David who is called, “Yahweh Our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:5-6). He is Him who is, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation... by Whom all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16). The salvation Jesus provided is enough because, while He existed in the form of God as the Divine Son, He humbled Himself, “by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross” (see Phil. 2:1-11). This is why we can have every confidence that Ephesians 1:7-8 is all that we need for the hope of our salvation: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”
So, in light of all that Jesus is and all that he did to secure your salvation, who are you, Chistian? You are chosen by God before the foundation of the world (1:4-6)! Who are you Christian? You are redeemed as a child of God by the blood of His own Son... namely Jesus (1:7-12)! Who are you Christian? You are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of the living God until the day when redemption is finally complete (1:13-14). You can have all the confidence that Jesus is enough because He alone is the Divine Warrior qualified to live the life you could not live for the purpose of dying a death you deserved! Jesus is your righteousness, and He is your salvation!
On December 4th, I read something Thomas Watson wrote that Jonathan Gibson’s O Come, O Come, Emmanuel included in his devotional. When it comes to what our salvation means, Watson’s words seem to capture the beauty and magnitude of the Jesus who came to save his people from their sins:
He was poor that he might make us rich. He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his Spirit. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven... that the Ancient of Days should be born,--that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle,--that he who rules the stars should suck the breast,--that a virgin should conceive,--that Christ should be made of a woman which himself made,--that the branch should bear the vine,--that the mother should be younger than the child she bore, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother,--that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God: this was not only amazing but miraculous.”
If you a Christian, Jesus is the hope of your salvation for He is the helmet of your salvation. If you are not a Christian, you can receive Him as the Hope of your salvation by surrendering your life to Him as your Savior.
[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
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The Shield of Faith
1 dec 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
It has been a few weeks since we were in Ephesians. The last sermon I preached was on the shoes of the gospel of peace. I have a confession to make, and it is not one to be proud of: I am not very good at creating space for my own rest. One of the symptoms that a break and vacation is needed is when your pastor takes 15-20 minutes to talk about shoes during his sermon introduction! In preparation for this sermon, I have been thinking about the importance of rest as it is related to faith.
One of the Ten Commandments is to, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exod. 20:8-11). Here is the irony with the fourth commandment: The first four commandments address our relationship with God and the last six commandments address our relationships with one another. I am of the opinion that a Sabbath rest has less to do with the seventh day of the week and more to do with our need to separate ourselves from the noise of life. Regarding the fourth commandment, Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). The purpose of the Sabbath is that it creates space for you to listen to God for the purpose being strengthened in Him.
The reason why the fourth commandment is sandwiched between the first three concerning our vertical relationship with God and the final six concerning our horizontal relationships with your neighbor is because if you ignore a Sabbath rest, both your relationship with God and your relationships with others will suffer. If you ignore the fourth commandment, you will be more prone to develop idols in your heart and become little good to those around you. So, here is what I want you to hear as we move forward: Sabbath rest stabilizes gospel grounded faith. The kind of rest I am talking about must include the kind of rest described in Psalm 46:10, “Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
Now, with God’s command for a Sabbath rest as our backdrop, let’s consider again the armor of God:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:10–13)
Remember that the schemes belong to the devil, but the armor we are to put on belongs to God. The belt of truth is our identity in Christ, the breastplate of righteousness is our righteousness in Christ, and the shoes of the gospel of peace enable us to keep our footing in the whole Gospel, that includes our salvation but also the full redemption of all creation. The whole Gospel includes our resurrection, but it also promises us a day when sorrow and sighing will flee away: “And the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with joyful shouting, and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 51:11).
The fourth piece of God’s armor is the shield of faith. The questions we need to answer are what is it really; and how does one use the shield of faith?
What is the Shield of Faith?
The shield Paul had in mind was not the small round shield you would expect a soldier to have for hand-to-hand combat, for it was light but left most of the body exposed. Instead, the shield Paul envisioned was more like the one a soldier carried to protect his whole body from the enemy’s arrows shot from a distance.
The large shield was called a “scutum” and was typically used by Roman legionaries. It was designed not only to protect the soldier wielding it from arrows, but was designed especially to protect him from arrows that were dipped in pitch and lit on fire before they were launched. The front of the shield was covered in leather that could be soaked in water; in this way, when the flaming arrows hit the shield, the fire would be quenched.
For what purpose did a flaming arrow (aka “fire arrow”) serve? What is fire known for doing? The enemy would launch flaming arrows to set on fire anything that was flammable such as buildings, materials, and enemy troops. Fire consumes and destroys, and this is exactly what the rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places desire to do to any and all of God’s people. We are told to take up the shield of faith to protect us from such attacks from the enemy, but what is it?
Is the shield of faith a self-determined will to hold on to what you believe? Is it something that you would have more of if you simply believed more? Is the shield of faith more about having enough faith in what we read about in the Bible so that you can claim financial, emotional, relational, spiritual, and physical healing and wholeness for yourself? I don’t think the shield of faith includes any of that.
Remember that Paul did not just come up with the armor of God because of some Roman soldiers around him. Paul received his shield metaphor from the Old Testament. To address Abraham’s fear about being without an heir, God promised Him, “Do not fear Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.” In Psalm 28:7, David celebrated the God who hears the prayers of His people with these words: “Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart triumphs, and with my song I shall thank Him.” However, I think Proverbs 30:5 is the most helpful verse that helps us understand what the shield of faith is: “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
So, which is it? Is God our shield and if so, how can our faith be the shield? On this point Iain Duguid is helpful: “Faith is the means by which we flee to God for refuge. It is how we cling to God and find in him comfort and protection in times of difficulty and distress.”[1] It is one thing to believe that God exists but is quite another thing to flee to the God you know to be true because of the way He has revealed Himself through His Word. The more you know about God, the more inclined you will be to flee to Him as your refuge and strength, for the Bible says, “the people who know their God will be strong and take action” (Dan. 11:32b).
The way you cling to God and find Him to be your comfort and protection is through His Word! We are told in Ephesians 5:26 that Jesus intends to sanctify and beautify His church through the washing of water with the word. It is the word of God that we use to saturate our shield “to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” This is not a New Testament concept; it is a Genesis through Revelation principle for living faithfully before God. Listen to Psalm 119:10-11 and tell me if you cannot hear the same tone that you hear in Ephesians 6:16, “With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. I have treasured Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You.”
How do We Use the Shield of Faith?
It is all well and good to know what the shield of faith is, but how do you use it? To answer that question, permit me to show you something that I have read dozens of times and missed because I did not read Ephesians 6:14-17 as carefully as I should have. There are six pieces that belong to the armor of God. The first three are all pieces that a soldier puts on and keeps on so long as he is active:
“...having belted your waist with truth” (v. 14a)“...having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (v. 14b)“...having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace” (v. 15)
Each of these pieces are attached to the Christian as part of his/her identity in Christ. The belt of truth is your new identity in Christ, the breastplate of righteousness is your righteousness in Christ, and the shoes of the gospel of peace are the promise of full redemption that Jesus makes possible. You put on these pieces of armor by standing in the gospel, confidently recognizing that all your righteousness is in Christ, and that your identity is rooted in Christ as truth for all of life!
Now notice the final three pieces of the armor of God and how Paul distinguishes them from the first three pieces with the words, “in addition to all...”:
“...taking up the shield of faith” (v. 16)“...take the helmet of salvation” (v. 17a)“...take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 17b)
The soldier’s shield, helmet, and sword were all a part of his armor, but they were pieces he could take up and put down at will. The enemy can tempt you to believe that Christ is not enough, but what he already knows is that your righteousness is Christ’s righteousness; wearing the breastplate of righteousness is simply walking in light of that truth. However, when the enemy attacks with his flaming arrows in the form of temptations, lies, and accusations, you can choose to take up the shield of faith or allow those arrows to pierce you so that their fire can overwhelm, consume, and incapacitate you.
If you are a Christian and you have truly been born again, the flaming arrows may not be able to destroy your soul, but they certainly can wound to the point of rendering you immobile and unable to fully engage and participate in God’s mission in the world and purpose for your life. If you are a Christian, the enemy knows that God chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-6), that you were fully and completely redeemed by the blood of His Son (1:7-12), and that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit as God’s inheritance to receive all of His promises (1:13-14, 18-23).
In fact, I am convinced that the devil has more of a theological grasp over what it means for you to be a Christian than many Christians, but if he can deceive you, if he can aid in destroying your Christian witness, if he can paralyze you with shame and guilt to keep you from clinging to all that the cross of Christ represents, then he will do all within his ability to do just that! Dear Christian, when those flaming arrows come, you have a shield God has given that you can take up to defend yourself from such attacks! God has given us all that we need, but faith in His promises, a dependance upon Him, and the responsibility to proactively saturate our faith with the word of God is something we must do.
Conclusion
The enemy will launch his flaming arrows but make no mistake from what we have learned so far from Ephesians, there is also the danger we face from self-inflicted wounds when we fall into temptation. The devil never makes us sin, we do that all on our own! This is why it is important to take on the full armor of God. When we are mindful that Jesus is our identity and not our sin, when we are fully aware that Jesus is our only hope and righteousness, and then stand in the truth of all of God’s redemptive promises, our resolve to resist sin and temptation becomes more determined.
But, when the flaming arrows fly you can lower your shield and let them pierce and consume, or you can take up your shield. When the enemy whispers: “You sinned and now you are too disgusting for God to love you!” You take up your shield saturated with the word of God and say: “Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall I will rise; though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me... He will bring me out to the light, and I will look at His righteousness” (Micah 7:8, 9). You take up your shield saturated by the word of God and say, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.... For if while we were enemies we were reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:8, 10).
Don’t you think that Mary and Joseph endured many the constant barrage of the enemy’s flaming arrows the moment they found out about the conception of Jesus while Mary was still a virgin? Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31). Her only question was: “How?” since she was a virgin. After the angel told her that the Holy Spirit would make it possible miraculously, her response was simply: “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word” (v. 38). Mary could have been overwhelmed by fear over what her mother, father, relatives, and neighbors would think, but instead she raised up her shield of faith in the form of a song saturated with what she knew from the word of God:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
“And His mercy is to generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
“He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
“He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
“He has given help to His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
Just as He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever. (Luke 1:47–55)
Joseph could have walked out on Mary in disbelief, but He took up his shield as well and believed that God was not only big enough to make the conception of Jesus supernaturally possible, but he too believed the word of God: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14; see also Matt. 1:18-25).
So, how do you use the shield of faith? How do you take it up to defend yourself? You take up the shield of faith each time you flee to God for refuge through the truth of His word and cling to Him to find your comfort and protection in times of difficulty and distress.
[1] Iain M. Duguid, The Whole Armor of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2019), p. 68.
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Growing Up
24 nov 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
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Centered on Jesus
17 nov 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
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Shoes of the Gospel
10 nov 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
There was a time when I could not stand the idea of exercise. I was tired of being on cholesterol and blood pressure medicine, and finally got to the place where I became desperate enough to get healthy. One of the first things I chose to do was join a gym, hire a trainer, and sign up for a 5K because I thought that if I did not train for it, I would die. So, I began running twice a week while I trained at the gym three times a week. What I learned soon after I started running was how important it was to have the right shoes.
Because I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, we called anything that you could run around and play in: “sneakers.” Depending on where you grew up, you may know them as “tennis shoes.” Before I started running, I did not know that there were all types of “sneakers” depending on the kind of thing you liked to do. For those who like to run, you can pay to have your foot analyzed to determine if you need a neutral shoe (for those with a stable foot and normal or high arch). If you are a runner whose outer edge of your heel hits the ground first or Vis versa, then you might need to choose a more stable shoe. If you participate in track and field, you may need a shoe with spikes designed to be more lightweight. If you want a bit more cushion while running, there are cushioned running shoes. If you do not like the cushion and want to feel more of the ground while running, there is the minimalist running shoe. If you like running on trails, there is the trail running shoe. If you are an avid runner, and do not have the right shoes, you will develop pain in your knees, feet, thighs, etc.
Needless to say, wearing the right shoes are important if you are a runner. Wearing the right shoes while hiking is important if you hike. Wearing the right shoes doing anything is important. Wearing the right shoes as a soldier is especially important for combat readiness, and the third piece of equipment belonging to God’s armor that we are told to put on is the shoes of the gospel of peace.
What are the Shoes of Gospel Peace?
Most translations insert the word “shoe” to make sense of the Greek. Shoes are assumed and the way it is translated in the NASB is the most literal of all the versions: “...and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace” (v. 15). The English Standard Version translates the Greek in a way that really gets at the heart of the point that I believe Paul is attempting to make: “as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” The question we need to answer is, for what purpose do the shoes of the gospel of peace serve?
The Roman soldier was fitted with a type of sandal that was heavier than what civilians wore. The sole of the sandal was made with several layers of leather that were about ¾ of an inch thick with hollow-headed hobnail spikes on the bottom of the sole. The sandals a soldier of Rome wore were not designed for running but did allow him to keep his footing while standing against his enemy. The shoes Paul had in mind are the type that allowed a soldier to establish himself so that the enemy would not push him back. Now with that in mind, consider Ephesians 6:10-13,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
So, if the shoes Paul had in mind are the type that allowed a soldier to firm up his stance before the enemy, what does it mean to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace for the Christian? I have read in a number of commentaries that to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace is Paul’s way of saying that “believers should always be ready to share the gospel.”[1] I definitely believe that sharing the gospel is what Paul assumed would be the motive and desire of the Christian who has put on the full armor of God. After all, he was very much aware of Isaiah 52:7, which states: “How delightful on the mountains are the feet of one who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Isa. 52:7). Jesus did say of His followers: “You are the salt of the earth.... You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14). It is true that the only way people will hear of the gospel of Jesus Christ is if Christians everywhere tell them: “But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things” (Rom. 10:15). However, is this the main point the apostle is making in Ephesians 6:15? I do not believe that it is.
The shoes of the gospel of peace are the good news of Jesus Christ, but the good news of Jesus Christ is not only that he died for our sins and rose from the grave for the salvation of our souls. The good news that we are to strap onto our feet, includes Jesus’ death and resurrection; but it much more than that! “How so?” you ask. For starters, you need to consider the context of the shoes of the gospel of peace within Ephesians 6:10-18. Does Paul mean that we are to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace so that we can be ready and prepared to tell people about Jesus (see also Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Pet. 3:15)? If he did mean this, don’t you think he would have written instead: “strap upon your feet the preparation so that you can make known the gospel of peace”? Instead, Paul tells us to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace so that we would be prepared... but prepared for what?
Remember that the shoes of the Gospel of peace belong to the armor of God, and by wearing them, they prepare us for something. What is it that they prepare us for? This is where the context of a particular passage is so important! The gospel shoes of peace prepare us to stand firm against the devil’s schemes, they prepare us to resist on the evil day, the shoes of the gospel of peace prepare us to stand firm in the strength of the Lord! I think the New Living Translation is helpful on this point: “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” What we are to strap onto our feet is the whole gospel and it is the shoes of the whole gospel that prepares us to stand firm as a Christian who has put on the full armor of God.
Why are the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace Needed?
Permit me answer why the shoes of the gospel of peace are needed and then I will unpack my answer for you. You must have the shoes of the gospel of peace securely fitted upon your feet because if you get the gospel wrong, your belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness will be compromised, and you will therefore be vulnerable when you stand before the enemy.
So, what is the gospel? It is the good news that Jesus Christ, as the perfectly righteous Son of God, lived a perfectly obedient life to the Law of God on our behalf. That He died for our sins, triumphantly conquered the grave through His resurrection on the third day, and now stands victoriously as creation’s redeemer.
Jesus is the Son of God
If you get Jesus wrong, you will get the gospel wrong. There is no room for error when it comes to who Jesus is in relationship to what it means to trust and believe in Him! As the Son of God, Jesus had no beginning, and He will have no end. He is not a creature like us because He was and forever is eternally begotten of the Father in the sense He existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Of Jesus, the scriptures testify: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it” (John 1:1–5).
Jesus was sent by the Father to become fully human while remaining fully God by immaculate conception through Mary while she was a virgin, through whom the Son of God was born: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He is the One of whom the prophets spoke: “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us... and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). By being born of a virgin, He became the righteous descendant of David who bears the name: “The Lord Our Righteousness” (see Jer. 23:5-6). If Jesus is not fully God and if He did not become also fully human, then there would not have been a fully qualified and fully capable redeemer for mankind and the rest of creation.
Jesus is Our Redeemer
As the Son of God, Jesus was the only One qualified to save sinners and reverse the curse of sin over all creation. Jesus is the Kinsmen-redeemer who met the three requirements to redeem what was lost when Adam and Eve rebelled against God on behalf of all humanity. The three requirements a kinsmen-redeemer was required to meet were that he had to be related to Adam’s race, he had to be willing to redeem what was lost by Adam’s race, and he had to have the means to redeem what was lost, which was not only humanity but all of creation under Adam’s headship. The only qualified kinsmen-redeemer who could provide what was needed for redemption had to be One who was both fully God and fully human. This is why Jesus took on flesh to become our kinsmen redeemer, and as our Kinsmen Redeemer, God, “put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23).
Jesus is our Triumphant King Who is making all things new!
The Bible says that Jesus is God’s “Yes” to all of His promises (2 Cor. 1:20), and His promises from Genesis through Revelation include not only the promise of redemption for sinful man, but the reversal of the curse of sin (Jer. 23:5-6; ), the defeat and destruction of the devil (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-10), and the resurrection and restoration of all things (2 Pet. 3:10-13). The gospel of peace that belongs to the armor of God is the gospel Peter wrote about to encourage suffering Christians to stand firm: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3–5). Jerry Bridges was absolutely correct when he wrote in his magnificent book, The Discipline of Grace: “The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history.[2]
Listen, when you stand in the shoes of the gospel of peace, you stand in the reality and truth of all that the gospel is, and when you have “strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace”, you stand firm in all that the gospel is for you as one who has been redeemed by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God! When we stand with the gospel of peace securely strapped to our feet, we can say with Job in the midst of great suffering: “Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, He will take His stand on the earth. ‘Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I will see God, whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself, and whom my eyes will see, and not another” (Job 19:25–27). When your feet are fitted with the gospel of the peace, you can respond to the uncertainties of life as the apostle Paul did: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). When you put on the shoes of the gospel of peace, you can stand against the devil’s schemes knowing that because of Jesus, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy” (Zeph. 3:17).
The gospel brings peace because not only does it promise our redemption, but it is the promise that Jesus is coming back and when He does, “He will judge between the nations, and will mediate for many peoples; and they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isa. 2:4). The gospel brings peace because we have Jesus, we can stand in the promise of knowing that whether in life or death, we who are the redeemed, will enter into the presence of God, “with joyful shouting, and everlasting joy will be on our heads. We will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 51:11).
This is why the gospel is not something you leave and move onto deeper and better doctrines! You will never outgrow your need for the gospel. To take on the armor of God is to stand in the gospel, to walk in light of the gospel, to march to the drumbeat of the gospel, and to fight the fight of faith while standing in the reality and truth of all that the gospel is for you... the redeemed! This is why Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).
When you put on the shoes of the gospel of peace, you will be compelled to proclaim all that the gospel is to you to the world around you because of the peace that it brings in preparing you to stand firm in the evil day. So, I leave you with the following questions in light of my sermon today:
What shoes are you standing in right now?Are you standing in the full gospel of peace, firmly secured around your feet?How tight are your laces and are they tight enough so that you will not lose your footing as you, “walking in a manor worthy of your calling” (4:1)?Who do you know that really needs to hear about the peace that you have in Jesus?
[1] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 180.
[2] Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress; 2006), p. 45.
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The Breastplate of Righteousness
3 nov 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
What does it mean to be a Christian? How do you know that you are a Christian? What assurance can you have that you will remain a Christian? Well it is mentioned over thirty times in Ephesians, in fact we are told about 10 times in the very first and very long sentence that makes up the first 14 verses of Ephesians:
In Christ, all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places now belongs to you Christian (v. 3)In Christ, you were chosen before the foundation of the world (v. 4)Through Christ, you were predestined and adopted as sons and daughters of the living God (v. 5).In the Beloved Son of God, you are a favored child of God (v. 6).In Jesus, we have redemption, forgiveness, and the riches of God’s grace through His blood (v. 7).In Jesus, God made known the mystery of His will (v. 9).In Christ, the Father is bringing all things together to accomplish His good plan (v. 10).In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance in accordance with the plan of the Father’s perfect will (v. 11).In Christ, we are the praise of God’s glory (v. 12).In Jesus, you have been sealed by God’s Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (v. 13).
To be a Christian is to be a person who was once spiritually dead, but now is alive with Christ not because of any religious activity on our part, but only because of the work of Jesus on our behalf (Eph. 2:1-9). This is what it means to be a Christian, but how does one become a Christian? I believe that in the same way that you become a Christian, is the same way you put on and take up the breastplate of righteousness.
Some of you will remember our time spent in the sermon on the mount during my sermon series, “Something Greater” just over two years ago. In fact, if you are trying to make sense of the rhetoric and animosity that we are experiencing in our nation, I encourage you to read the first manuscript in that series from May 22, 2022. If you were here for that sermon series, you discovered that not only is the sermon on the mount the greatest sermon ever preached, but Jesus’ sermon shows us what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
During our time in the beatitudes I shared that the first three beatitudes, which are also known as “beatitudes of need,” reveal what is essential for any person to understand what is necessary for the salvation of your soul. Let me walk you through it because it will help you appreciate just how encouraging the breastplate of righteousness really is. So here are the first three beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-5,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.
To be poor in spirit is to arrive at the cross of Christ with empty hands, recognizing that you are spiritually bankrupt of any moral virtues adequate to earn or gain God’s forgiveness for sins committed against Him. Those who mourn are those who see and understand their sins for what they are and grieve because of them. The meek are those who understand that their problems are beyond them, their problems are because of the sin in them, and their problems are of their own doing.
To come to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins is to come to Jesus knowing that there is no righteousness in yourself; it is to mourn over the reality that your sins offend the God who is infinitely righteous, and to come to Jesus knowing that there is not one thing you can do to generate the kind of righteousness necessary for your salvation. The person who has been truly born again is one whose experience is now the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). In Jesus, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8).
What is the Breastplate of Righteousness?
The Roman soldier’s breastplate was most likely form fitting and extended from the base of the neck to the top of the thighs, covering the thorax and abdomen for the purpose of protecting the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and bowels. The breastplate is the second piece of God’s armor we are told to put on, but what kind of righteousness does it represent?
Is the breastplate of righteousness the righteousness of Jesus that has been imputed upon you the moment you were saved through faith by Christ alone? The imputed righteousness of Christ is when the righteousness of Jesus is applied to you the moment you believed the gospel as we are told in verses like 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Here, consider another passage that concerns the imputed righteousness of Christ from Romans 5:18-21,
So then, as through one offense [Adam’s sin] the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In other words, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is good news because God the Father no longer sees you as a sinner because of your sinfulness but sees you as righteous because Jesus’ righteousness has been applied to you permanently.
Do you remember last week when I showed you that the belt of truth includes your identity in Jesus and that He is now your truth? The One we follow is, “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and now we follow His way, we walk in His truth, and we are united to His life. Some of you, like John Bunyan, really struggle with the tension between what you know the Bible says about your salvation and your very real frustration over your sin. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, a book he wrote while in prison for preaching the gospel, it has now been translated into more languages than any other book, except the Bible. Bunyan also wrote other books, and one such book so profoundly helped me with my own struggle of desiring to live for Jesus while struggling with my own sin. One day, while Bunyan was taking a walk, he discovered something that we dare not miss concerning the righteousness of Christ; he wrote about it in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
One day, as I was walking in the field, my conscience still somewhat wounded and still fearing that all was not well, these words suddenly entered my soul: “Your righteousness is in heaven.” And I thought, moreover, that I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God’s right hand. I say, my righteousness was there [in heaven]; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, ‘He is in need of my righteousness,’ as my righteousness was right in front of him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good state of heart that made my righteousness better, nor even my bad state that made my righteousness worse, since my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, ‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Heb. 13:8).
Now indeed the chains fell off my legs, and I was loosed from my afflictions and irons. My temptations fled away too, so that from that time those terrifying Scriptures of God stopped troubling me; I now went home rejoicing in the grace and love of God. So when I got home I looked to see if I could find that verse: ‘Your righteousness is in heaven,' but I could find no such statement. So my heart began to sink again; the only words which came to mind were these: ‘Of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).[1]
Bunyan’s book was first published in 1666, but his words echo what so many of us struggle with today as we seek to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (4:1). But is this the breastplate of righteousness that we are to put on along with the belt of truth? The answer to that question is yes... and no. The answer is “No” in that if you are a Christian, you do not need to apply the righteousness of Christ to your life, that is something that only God can do and already has been done for you (see Eph. 1:7-12)! If you are a Christian, you can say with the apostle Paul, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith...” (Phil. 3:8-9).
So in what way is the breastplate of righteousness the righteousness of Christ then? We put on the breastplate of righteousness when we live and walk in the confidence and reality that all we have is Christ, and His righteousness is righteousness enough! John Bunyan said that after he realized that all his righteousness was before the Father because Jesus is our righteousness and sanctification before God. He went on to say, “Having reached this point, I rested very comfortably here, for some time, at peace with God through Christ. ‘Oh,’ I thought, ‘Christ, Christ!’ There was nothing but Christ before my eyes.... Oh, I saw my gold was in my trunk at home, in Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Now Christ was all – all my righteousness, all my sanctification and all my redemption.”[2] This my dear brothers and sisters is what it looks like to take up and put on the breastplate of righteousness. It is God’s to give, and it is now yours to rest, stand, and walk in!
Why is the Breastplate of Righteousness Needed?
I am not sure I need to say much to convince you why the breastplate of righteousness is needed, but to be sure that you not only understand why it is needed, but that you are able to celebrate that it is yours to wear, I feel the need to point out a few more things.
One of the great expositors and pastors of the 20th century, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, said of this piece of God’s armor: “You do not put on ‘the breastplate of experiences’, you put on the breastplate of ‘righteousness.’” The breastplate of righteousness, like the belt of truth, is not something you generate or create out of your own strength.
When Paul described the armor of God, he didn’t invent it based on what he saw the Roman soldiers wearing around him while in prison, his understanding of the armor of God came from various passages in the Old Testament such as Isaiah 59. In Isaiah 53 we are promised a suffering servant who would be “pierced for our offenses and crushed for our wrongdoings” and that suffering servant was Jesus who was punished for our sins (see Isa. 53:5-10). Then when we come to Isaiah 59, the suffering servant is now the divine and righteous warrior who will come to rescue His people from their sins. Isaiah 59 begins with these words: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (vv. 1-2).
As we read on, we discover similar language that is used in Ephesians 2:1-3 used in Isaiah 59:12-13, “For our wrongful acts have multiplied before You, and our sins have testified against us; for our wrongful acts are with us, and we know our wrongdoings: Offending and denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.” Now listen to how desperate the condition of sinful humanity according to Isaiah: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and one who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice” (vv. 14-15).
So what does Yahweh do to address the unrighteousness of His people? He made salvation possible for those who could not save themselves! It is in Isaiah 59:16-17 that Paul was referring to in Ephesians 6:14, “And He saw that there was no one, and was amazed that there was not one to intercede; then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a cloak” (vv. 16-17).
The Divine Warrior promised in Isaiah 59 is He who would conquer our sin by suffering the wrath of His Father for our sins in our place! The only truly and perfect righteous One hung on a cross for unrighteous sinners! Upon His head was a crown of thorns to serve as a reminder of the curse of sin that He bore in our place, and once He declared that it was finished, the Divine Warrior bowed His head in death to become our salvation!
Oh, dear brothers and sisters... do you see how critically important the breastplate of righteousness really is? Jesus is not only our Divine Warrior who is qualified to save rebel sinners, but He is the One also promised in Jeremiah 23, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will live securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord Our Righteousness’” (vv. 5-6).
Jesus is our righteousness and to put on the breastplate of righteousness is to walk in confidence that He is enough because His mercy is rich, His grace is sufficient, and His love is great! Charles Spurgeon described it this way: “Saints are so righteous in Jesus Christ that they are more righteous than Adam was before he fell, for he had but a creature righteousness, and the Christian has the righteousness of the Creator. Adam had a righteousness which he lost, but believers have a righteousness which they can never lose, an everlasting righteousness.” To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to stand, walk, live, and run in consideration of Jesus as your truth and as your righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is important because when you put it on, it protects the vital organs of your faith, such as your heart.
Your hope and salvation are not bound to a nation, or whoever the next president will be. Whatever happens today, tomorrow, on Tuesday, or any day before you, your Sovereign is Jesus, and it is He,
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside you
He roars like a lion
He bled as the Lamb
He carries your healing in His hands!
He has said, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18). Amen.
[1] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press; 2000), pp. 113-14.
[2] Ibid, p.114.
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Stand Firm with the Belt of Truth
29 okt 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
October 31st marks the 507th anniversary of the protestant reformation when a Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther wrote ninety-five complaints concerning the Roman Catholic Church and nailed those complaints to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg in 1517. Little did Luther know that his complaints would be taken down, translated into multiple language, and mass produced through the newly invented printing press.
It was because of what Martin Luther was reading and studying in his Bible that he wrote his complaints for the purpose of debating and dialoging over what he believed were inconsistences with the teachings of the church compared to what the Bible actually taught. Eventually, on April 17, 1521, Luther would have to appear before the Diet of Worms to give account for the vast number of texts, treatises, letters, and tracts calling into question the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.
It was at the Diet of Worms Luther was given the option to recant and repent, and if he did so, he would be welcomed back into the Church. If Luther refused, he would be branded a heretic and burned at the stake. Luther requested an adjournment to pray and formulate an appropriate response. The meeting was reconvened the next day on April 18th, and it was on that day that Luther delivered a speech that would forever affect the Church. Luther was only permitted to give a short and simple answer whether he would retract his teachings or stand by them; here is the most well-known part of his answer before the Diet of Worms:
Since your most serene majesty and your highnesses require of me a simple, clear, and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the council, because it is clear that they have fallen into error and even into inconsistency with themselves. If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God's word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.
Luther was not burned at the stake over his answer but understood that his answer could have resulted in his death. What did happen was he had to go into hiding and change his name and appearance for a while, for his own safety. Luther delivered his great speech because there was a truth greater and more important than his own safety, for what he was most concerned about was not what the Pope declared to be true, but what God’s word said and how everything else compared to what the Word of God said.
We live in a different time compared to the day Luther lived! However, if you are a Christian, you a part of a community known as the church of Jesus Christ, and therefore are a people of one book, and that book is the Bible which contains within its pages the truth of how it is we are to live.
When Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, he did so while in prison. Before the apostle was the presence of a roman soldier, and it was with the armor a soldier of Rome wore that Paul would become all too familiar.
What is the Belt of Truth?
Paul lists six pieces that belong to the armor of God, seven parts if you include Paul’s statement on prayer in 6:18-19 and that there is no power apart from a dependance upon God in prayer. The first piece of armor that he begins with is a belt.
The belt was an important part of a Roman soldier’s armor, not because it made it look better, but because it served two primary purposes: it was used to tuck in and keep the soldier’s garments from tripping him up, and it was used to hold the sheath for one’s sword. It is worth noting that the belt also served to display a soldier’s military status and rank. The belt went underneath the armor, while remaining visible so that it was obvious he was ready to fight.
As the warrior’s belt was critical for his readiness in battle, truth is essential to the Christian life. If we are going to stand in the might of the Lord, if we are going to be able to stand firm against the devil’s schemes, and if we are going to have any hope in resisting on the evil day, truth is essential to the Christian life. It is the nature of our God and the character of His Word:
“Teach me Your way, Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Ps. 86:11)
“God is not a man, that He would lie, nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19)
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and just is He.” (Deut. 32:4)
Truth is not only essential to the Christian life; it is the center of the Christian faith! Think about it, God’s fullest and most perfect expression of His faithfulness and character is in His Son, Jesus: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:1–3a). If you are a Christian, you follow Him who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6b).
Think about what Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:10-14; the only way you will be able to resist the father of lies (the devil) is by putting on the full armor of God, beginning with the belt of truth! But, dear Christian, what is the belt of truth?
I want you to think about the significance of where the belt is placed. It is the first part of the armor that is put on and it is the one piece that is tightest and closest to your person. I do not believe I am reading too much into this when I say that I believe the belt of truth is more than just the Word of God (although it certainly is that), it is also our new identity now that we are in Christ! We who were once dead in our sins are now alive with Jesus (2:4-5), and now He is head over His church which we are now a part of (1:22). We are now His body (1:23), Jesus is our peace (2:17-18), we are His temple (2:21), because Jesus now dwells in our hearts through faith (3:17).
Through Christ, we are one body, sealed by one Spirit, called in one hope by one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all... (4:4-7). Our identity is now in Jesus, which means that He is our truth! This is why, more than any other book in the entire Bible is the phrase “in Christ” repeated more than thirty times to describe where it is the Christian finds his/her identity than in the epistle to the Ephesians!
Listen, to put on the belt of truth is to do what we read in Romans 13:14, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” To put on the belt of truth is to identity with the Jesus who said: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). If you are a Christian, His truth is now your truth.
Why is the Belt of Truth Important?
To put on the belt of truth is to be so identified with Jesus that you are freed up to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). To put on the belt of truth is to stand on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles with Jesus Christ as your eye-opening, mind-captivating, and life-shaping cornerstone (2:19-20). To put on the belt of truth is to walk in love, “just as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us, and offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (5:1-2). To put on the belt of truth is to subject yourself under the cleaning water of God’s word (5:26). To put on the belt of truth is to identify with the Lordship of Jesus by doing what He says (see Luke 6:46).
We seem to live at a time in society when “my truth” trumps all other truths. Since the days of Martin Luther, we have moved closer and closer to redefining truth with every form of media invented to give us more knowledge and make the world more accessible to us. Now, do not misunderstand me, God gave us a brain to grow in our understanding and the different forms of media has made available to us some really great things, but it has also been used to pervert knowledge and truth.
Think for a moment of how the different forms of media have changed our lives. The printing press paved the way for the enlightenment and modernity when truth was measured by reason. The worldwide web paved the way for postmodernity beginning in the 60s until our present day with the conviction that reason and the human intellect is no longer the arbiter of truth, but also includes the emotions and intuition as the arbitrators of truth to the point when we now have our own truth. Now, with the invention of AI, we are entering a new era and the way our society measures truth and morality, like modernity and postmodernity, will never be the same.
Our world is changing so rapidly and so profoundly, but there is one thing that has not changed and cannot change, and that is this simple fact: all truth is God’s truth. Truth belongs to our Creator and the lies belong to the devil. Our identity is in Jesus who is, according to the Bible: “...the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Our world is changing, but not so with our God! He remains infinitely good, infinitely just, infinitely holy, infinitely wise, and is equally a God of love and mercy in infinite measure! He alone, in our ever-changing world, remains always true, always honorable, always right, always pure, always lovely, always commendable, always excellent, and always praiseworthy (see Phil. 4:8). The God who chose you before dirt was invented, He who redeemed you with His blood, and the One who has sealed you for the day of redemption DOES NOT CHANGE!
“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.” (Mal. 3:6)
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (Jas. 1:17)
“God is not a man, that He would lie, nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19)
So, if the One who is truth does not change, how is it and why is it that some in the church feel the need to mold and shape what the Bible teaches to what our ever-changing world defines as true? So here is the rub. If you are a Christian (or thinking about becoming a Christian), you follow Jesus who said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6b). As Lord over your life, He will make demands upon your life for His glory and your good, to put the belt of truth on is to walk in light of your identity as a Christ-follower. You cannot and you will not “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1), if you are not putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14).
Because Jesus is the cornerstone of His church and the apostles and prophets are Her foundation, we, as His church, are “a pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:14-15) in a world that does not know the Truth, because it does not know Jesus. Sam Storms said of our enemy: “Satan will always flourish in the midst of theological ignorance.”
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Resist on the Evil Day
20 okt 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
Can I ask you a question? Why is it that we Christians in America tend to be surprised by the supernatural? Think about what it is that we say we believe. We believe the Bible to be true and supernaturally inspired by God Himself. Because we believe the Bible to be supernaturally inspired, we believe God created all things by the act of His omnipotent will. Because we believe the Bible to be inspired by God, we believe that there was a serpent in the Garden who successfully tempted Adam and Eve to sin, that Satan does indeed exist, as does his legions of demons.
One of my favorite stories about the fight between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness is the one found in 2 Kings 19:8-37. We do not have the time to read the entire story, but I do think it is worth pointing out a few things that happened in order to teach how we can respond to the threats of our day. Judah’s king, Hezekiah, received a letter from the king of Assyria that read:
“Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?” (2 Kings 19:10–12)
What was Hezekiah’s response? He stood firm against his enemy in the way his great grandfather David encouraged God’s people to do: “Some praise their chariots and some their horses, but we will praise the name of the Lord, our God” (Ps. 20:7). Here is Hezekiah’s response:
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt the living God. It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have hurled their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, are God.” (2 Kings 19:14–19)
God didn’t use Hezekiah’s chariots or horses, but instead, He sent the angel of the Lord and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. So, when we read stories like that, how is it that we are surprised? When we read Ephesians 6:10-13 and are warned about the demonic realm consisting of rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places... how is it that we do not take such warnings as seriously as we ought?
Throughout the gospels we read of Jesus encountering the demonically possessed and how the demons were terrified of Him. We read of the Jewish exorcists in Ephesus who went from place-to-place attempting to mimic the kinds of miraculous things they saw Paul do in the name of Jesus. At one point, in an effort to cast out the demons the Jewish exorcists said: “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” The evil spirit responded: “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” We are then told that the demon possessed man, “pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded” (see Acts 19:11-16). I wonder if Paul recalled these stories when he wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
As we consider Ephesians 6:12-13 this morning, there are two points that we dare not miss. The first is, “Our enemy is spiritual, strategic, and satanic.” The second point is, “Our fight is direct, dangerous, and dogged.”
Our Enemy is Spiritual, Strategic, and Satanic
What Paul wants us to understand is that when it comes to the world that Jesus said would hate us because it hated Him, that our struggle was NOT against flesh and blood. In other words, our enemy does not include those who reject Jesus or embrace the ideologies of this world, but instead our enemy includes, “...the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (v. 12).
Ephesians 6:10-13 is the most explicit reference to the Christian’s struggle against evil forces that we have in the Bible. It cannot be any clearer than this! There is no real way to tell if Paul is describing an authority structure within the demonic realm, but it does seem that way from everything else I read in the Bible. Let me begin by sharing five things that we know about angels from the Bible:
Angels are spirit beings that possess personhood, created for the glory of God (Ps. 148:2-5), and are a part of the created order (see also Job. 38:4-7; Isa. 6:2-4; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:14; 12:22; Rev. 4:8).Angels are temporarily above man but will be subject to judgment by Jesus’ church at the judgment (1 Cor. 6:2-3). Meanwhile they are unusually strong, swift and intelligent, and can take the appearance of man (see Ps. 103:20; Dan. 9:21; Ezek. 28:12; 1 Pet. 1:11-12; Gen. 18:1-3; Mk. 16:5).Angels are limited in ways that man is not. Angels cannot marry, man can (Matt. 22:30; 19:4-6); angels cannot experience redemption, man can (2 Pet. 2:4; Rom. 5); angels are created as angelic beings while man is created in the image of God (Ps. 148:2-5; Gen. 1:27).Angels possess personhood: intellect, emotion, and will (emotion: 1 Pet. 1:12; intellect: 1 Pet. 1:12; will: Jude 6).Angels seem to be ranked by authority (1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7; Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:16; Isa. 6:2; Ezek. 28:14). Lucifer was God’s guardian cherub (Ezek. 28:12-17) who seems to have out ranked all the other angels, there is at least one archangel (1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 1:9), cherubim (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 10:1-22), seraphim (Isa. 6:2-3), and a multitude of angels (Rev. 5:11ff).
We are told that the there was a war in heaven; the timeframe of when the war happened is unclear. I believe the war happened sometime between creation and Genesis 3 when we are first introduced to Satan as the serpent. The angels who sided with Lucifer (the dragon) are now known as demons. Here is what we read in Revelation 12:7-9, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:7–9).
The rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness are those angels who sided with Satan in his war against God. Although Satan is only one demon who cannot be in more than one place at a time, he has command over millions of demons who obey his every command. Our enemy is spiritual, our enemy is strategic, and our enemy is satanic. Our enemy is very real and although limited, they are capable of the following:
Demons can provide superhuman strength to the victims they possess (Mark 5:1-20; Acts 19:16).They have the same capability that angels have in that physical barriers cannot restrict them (Mark 5:9-13; Dan. 9:21-23; 10:10-14).Demons can physically harm, oppress, and possess humans (see Matt. 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:15; John 13:21-30; Acts 16:16-18; 19:11-16).Behind every idol, false teaching, and anything that is against Christ are demons (1 Cor. 10:14-22; Gal. 4:3-9).Demons can influence nations, world leaders, and governing authorities (read the books of Daniel and Revelation as an example).
It is good to have a right and biblical understanding of demons, but you must also understand that the Bible teaches us that they have no power over the Christian because of our relationship with Jesus who redeemed us! If there is any bit of anxiety in what you have just heard about the demonic, consider what Colossians 2:13-15 promises:
And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Col. 2:13–15)
Our Fight is Direct, Dangerous, and Dogged
Jesus did indeed disarm the rulers and authorities through His sacrifice upon the cross and His triumph over the grave with His resurrection. However, we are warned that we are still in a fight, and that our fight is with the demonic forces that stand opposed to God. In this fight, we are to stand strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might by putting on the full armor of God.
Our fight is a struggle; the Greek word that we get the word “struggle” (πάλη) from is a word used to describe the kind of fight that comes in the form of close hand-to-hand combat. The point is that we must be prepared for the enemy’s attacks from afar or up close, and the enemy brings his fight against us in all shapes and sizes! It comes in the form of slander, false teaching, and the temptation to sin. Our fight can come in the form doubt, depression, and deception. Our struggle can be with the temptation to sin against God and others. The battle can come in the form of persecution from friends, family, or state authorities.
The evil day includes a greater evil that is coming, but it also includes any day you find yourself face to face with the enemy’s attacks or find yourself in his crosshairs from a distance. The evil day will be the final cataclysmic satanic attack that will come just before Jesus’ second coming. The evil day is your entire life as a Christian from new birth to physical death. The evil day includes those days in the Christian life when the onslaught of the enemy seems the strongest. The evil day are those days when the temptation to sin is more of a struggle than usual. So, Christian, how will you resist in the evil day? You do so by taking up the only help available to you that has been provided by God Himself: Take up the full armor of God. The three imperatives of Ephesians 6:10-13 are as follows:
Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.Put on the full armor of God.Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day.
When you have done everything to put on the full armor of God, only then can you stand firm.
Stand firm with and in all of God’s truth. His truth is the only truth that matters.Stand firm with the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness. All of Christ’s righteousness is now your righteousness.Stand firm in the peace of God as a beneficiary of His mercy. You are a child of God almighty.Stand firm with a shield of faith, saturated by the water of the word of God. God is infinitely bigger than all your problems, but you will not know that unless you receive it from His word.Stand firm with the helmet of salvation, which is the assurance that you belong to the One who chose you, redeemed you, and sealed you with His Holy Spirit. What can man do to you ultimately when the God of Life is for you?Stand firm with the ability to handle the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. You have the Word of God that is the authority of God who is able to change lives.
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Stand Against the Schemes of the Devil
13 okt 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
Some of the pets that I enjoyed the most growing up were the kind that ate other living things. Most of you know that I spent the first 12 years of my life in South Jersey just across from the Delaware and then moved into Pennsylvania on the other side of the Delaware. As a kid, I owned a lot of pets! I had hamsters, hermit crabs, at one time we had five Doberman pinchers, and a whole bunch of cats! If I am honest, my favorite pets were the kind that ate other living things. For example I used to own multiple Black piranhas that I would not only feed feeder goldfish to, but I would catch salamanders to feed to my piranhas. At one time I owned a yellow rat snack I would feed mice! However, I have never seen an anaconda in person. I did come across something that caught my attention with the title: “How to be Prepared for an Anaconda Attack.” Here is a list of instructions in the event that your path does cross with an anaconda, and it decides wants to eat you for lunch:
If you're attacked by an anaconda, do not run; the snake is faster than you are.Lie flat on the ground.Put your arms tight at your sides and your legs tight against one another.The snake will begin to climb over your body.Do not panic.The snake will begin to swallow you from the feet end.Step 6 will take a long time.After a while, slowly and with as little movement as possible, reach down, take your knife, and very gently slide it into the snake's mouth. Then suddenly sever the snake's head.Be sure your knife is sharp.Be sure you have your knife.
Some Anacondas can grow up to 30 feet long and weigh over 500 pounds. You will not catch me lying flat on the ground positioning myself to be its lunch! Clearly this list is meant to be funny. Yet, there is a greater serpent who is much more dangerous from which we very much, in a metaphorical sense, chose not to run; instead, we make it easy for him to do the thing he wants, and what he wants is to destroy us!
Be Aware of the Devil’s Schemes
When Adam and Eve were in the garden, there was something worse than an angry anaconda talking to them! He is also known as Lucifer, Satan, and the devil. He is described in the following scary ways: he is the Beast (Rev. 14:9-10), his name is Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24), he is described as a Dragon (Rev. 12:9), he is a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8), the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), the Prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:1-2), the Ruler of Demons (Luke 11:15), the ruler of this World (John 12:31-32), Serpent of Old (Rev. 12:9).
Of all the places in the garden of Eden Adam and Eve could have hung out, they decided to idly stand unprepared before the one tree they were told not to eat from. It was at that one tree that great Serpent waited and schemed his way into their minds, hearts, and lives. It was the institution of marriage and family the Serpent wanted to attack and destroy, and he did it when Adam and Eve were unprepared! Listen, the Serpent of Old still does the same thing today, the only difference is that he has had more practice at scheming since the Garden. This is why Paul addressed how we can walk in a manner worthy of our calling in marriages, in our parenting, with our children, and in our working (see 5:22-6:9). What “tree” are you idly standing in front of that you should not be?
We laugh at the list I read to you about what you should do if attacked by an anaconda, but when it comes to sin and temptation, how many of lay down on the ground instead of running to Him who is the great serpent crusher, namely Jesus. Instead of standing before trees we have no business standing in front of, we ought to be running to another tree, namely the cross of Christ! Why? Because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12).
So, what are the devil’s schemes? Well, he has a whole list of names that gives us some clue as to the kind of scheming he is up to. Satan is known as the Accuser (Rev. 12:10), the Adversary (1 Peter 5:8), the Deceiver (Rev. 12:9), the Enemy (Matt. 13:39), the Evil One (John 17:15), the Father of lies (John 8:44), the Lawless One (2 Thess. 2:8-10), Murderer (John 8:44), the Tempter (Matt. 4:3), the Thief who comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10), and the Wicked One (Eph. 6:16). So what do these titles and names tell us about our great enemy?
As the accuser, Satan wants you to be paralyzed by past failures with the kind of shame and guilt that keeps you from running to Jesus in repentance because he wants you to believe that your sins are too great for God’s mercy, love, and grace!As the adversary, the Devil seethes with hatred towards you. He will use all that is at his disposal to destroy you. He wants to separate you from the community of God’s people because he knows that is where you are weakest. As the deceiver, he seeks to harm you with his cheap counterfeits by deceiving and scheming you into believe that the counterfeit will satisfy more than what God has designed for your good. He does this with sexuality, politics, and the good things that he can get you to treat as ultimate things.
Satan is an enemy because he wants to harm you. Satan is the evil one because he is sinister, malicious, diabolic, heinous, crooked, vile, and malevolent... and all of his evil scheming is directed towards you and the success of God’s mission! Satan is not only a liar, but he is also the father of lies; so of course he wants you to turn from any and all truth... especially God’s truth found in His word. Satan is lawless, so he has no moral compass. Satan has been a murder from the beginning, so he is no advocate for life. Satan is a thief who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Does it have to be any clearer than that? The first step in standing firm against the schemes of the devil is to know how it is that he intends to scheme.
Listen, Satan is the personification of evil, but he hides his true colors behind a veneer of what appears to be innocence. To understand the devil’s schemes you must be aware that he, “disguises himself as an angel of light”; and all the demons do the same (2 Cor. 11:14). We will look into this more next week but know that he is not running around in a red suit and a pitchfork. He is scheming behind the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (v. 12).
Stand Against the Devil’s Schemes
If you are a Christian, you are at war! You who were once dead in your sins and were by nature a child of wrath (2:1-3) and were under the influence and enslaved to the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (v. 12). However, as powerful as the devil and the demonic world are, Jesus has already defeated them all! Remember what we read in Ephesians 1:19-22; first Paul’s prayer: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19a). The boundless greatness that is ours who believe, is NOT our power but the power of Almighty God!
What happened at the cross and the empty tomb is that Jesus defeated the devil along with the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places! Listen to how Paul describes the way the devil and the demonic have been defeated:
“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about 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 every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church...” (Eph. 1:19–22)
All things are in subjection under the feet of Jesus, and it is He who is head over all things. The devil has been defeated and he is not happy about it! Because of Jesus’ victory through the cross and the His resurrection, your salvation was made possible (1:7-12; 2:4-5)! We must stand against the devil’s schemes, but we are only able to do so in the strength of the might of King Jesus! We do this only by putting on the full armor of God.
Do not miss what is being said in verse 12: “Put on the full armor of God.” This is not a suggestion, but a command (an imperative)! Now, notice who the armor belongs to. It is not armor we create that we are to put on, but armor that belongs to God! The armor of God is armor He has provided, but you only need to put it on in order to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
Now we are going to take our time working through what each piece of the armor of God is in the weeks to come, but for now, you need to understand what it is. We are not told to put on some of the armor to stand against the devil’s schemes, but the full armor of God; so what is the full armor of God?
The belt of truth: This is the first piece that a soldier would put on around his waist that would hold all the other clothing out of the way so that he could run and fight without any of his clothing under the armor getting in the way. It is not “your truth” but God’s truth that you are to put on and it is foundational for standing against the devil, but it will do you no good if you do not put it on by obeying the truth of God’s word.
The breastplate of righteousness: The breastplate as part of a warrior’s armor protects the vital organs, so it is no mystery why Paul would characterize the righteousness of Christ as essential to protecting the vital organs of the Christian’s faith. The breastplate of righteousness is provided by God because what we need and will always need is the righteousness of Christ!
The shoes of the gospel of peace: Just as any warrior cannot fight effectively without shoes, so it also true of the Christian. The one who has the righteousness of Christ is one who hungers for the righteousness of Christ. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” The shoes of the gospel of peace are the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us shalom, which is the peace of God that prepares us to stand against the devil’s schemes as we are satisfied in Christ alone.
The shield of faith: The shield Paul has in mind here is not the little round shield a soldier might wield on his arm, but the kind designed to shield the whole body from the onslaught of arrows which I believe are the doubts, temptations, impure, and evil thoughts that come out of nowhere. The shield of faith is only as large as your confidence in the Word of God, dependance upon the righteousness of Christ as your righteousness, and your conviction that only Jesus satisfies your soul.
The helmet of salvation: The helmet of salvation is the hope of our salvation (1 Thess. 5:8-9); it is the confidence that we belong to Christ and that there is no other who can satisfy and bring life to our whole being, but Christ alone! The helmet of salvation is the security that we have in the assurance of our salvation. The devil is the accuser and although he cannot rob you of your salvation, he can erode your confidence in the truth that the cross of Christ is sufficient for all your sins.
The sword of the Spirit: The Sword of the Spirit is our only offensive weapon in all the armor we are to put on. The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God, and like the shield of faith, it is only as effective as our ability to wield it through as we grow in our knowledge of it. Of the word of God, we are told in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Sam Storms suggests that there are three primary ways we can use the Sword of the Spirit: “We proclaim the Word (as Jesus did; see also Rev. 12). We pray the Word (Eph. 6:18-19; Acts 6:4; John 15:7). And we praise with the Word (i.e., sing the Scriptures).[1]
Conclusion
So, how can you begin to stand firm against the devil’s schemes? Well for starters, don’t lie down and make it easy for your enemy! Stand firm by deciding to submit to God’s truth instead of what the culture says truth is. Stand firm with a confidence that all the righteousness you will ever need is the righteousness of Christ. Stand firm in the peace that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Stand firm in a faith that God is both infinitely good and infinitely greater than all that stands against you. Stand firm in the security that you are now a son/daughter of God because you are alive with Christ. Stand firm with the confidence that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is indeed sharper than any other sword; stand firm by proclaiming the Word of God, praying the Word of God, and by praising with the Word of God.
We can stand against the schemes of the devil in the strength of the One who beat the beast, bludgeoned Beelzebub, defanged the dragon, and leveled the roaring lion at the cross! The Christ of the cross is the King of kings who is infinity greater than the god of this age. He preeminently and powerfully prevailed against the prince of the power of the air. He reigns on High and His heel is on the throat of the ruler of demons. One day soon the full weight of Jesus’ omnipotent heel will be felt upon the skull of the serpent of old, and on that Day his skull will finally and permanently be crushed! Brothers and sisters, we can be strong in our Lord and in the strength of His might because He reigns! We stand in the might of Jesus who said, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev. 1:17-18).
[1] Ibid., p. 305.
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The Strength of the Lord
1 okt 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
The threat of sin within and among those who make up the Bride of Christ has existed since the beginning, and the danger of wolves is something we are warned about throughout the Bible. In fact, after three years of strengthening the Ephesian Church through the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word, Paul warned: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30). Years after Paul had left Ephesus, Timothy served as their pastor and in his final letter before Paul was executed by Rome, he warned Timothy of difficult days ahead—days I believe we find ourselves in today:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim. 3:1–7)
The threat we face is also individual and internal! The desires of your own sinful flesh are the most immediate and present threat you face! We are warned: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15–16). This is why Paul pleaded with the Ephesian Christians to be diligent is how they lived and walked: “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).
Although there are wolves who sneak in from the outside and there are real dangers from within, Paul wants us to understand the nature of those threats in Ephesians 6:10-13,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:10–13)
The very real dangers we face as followers of Jesus includes wolves from the outside and our flesh and sin from within; however, our struggle is cosmic, and it is with the realm of the demonic! My hope and plan for the weeks to come is to not only help you appreciate just how real our struggle is, but to offer you practical ways you can remain strong, stand against the schemes of the devil, and resist the spiritual forces of darkness by standing firm in your faith as a Christian.
We are at War!
Today, I want to turn our attention to Ephesians 6:10, but before I do, you need to understand that if you are a Christian, you are engaged in a cosmic war! It is a war that Paul categorizes as a “struggle.” The Greek word Paul uses for “struggle” is palē (πάλη) which is a word used to describe what is involved in close hand-to-hand combat. In close hand-to-hand combat, you have no choice, for you must chose to fight against the one who wants to harm you, or you must surrender to slavery or even death. Before you were a Christian, you were, “dead in your offenses and sins...” (Eph. 2:1); according to Ephesians 2:2-3, you behaved and acted as one in agreement with the one who commands and orders the demonic realm against God and His creation: “Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (v. 3).
Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Out of God’s rich mercy, great love, and all-sufficient grace, you were rescued, ransomed, and redeemed through the cross of Christ. If you are a Christian, it is because God made you alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5). Through Jesus, God rescued you from your sin and Satan and according to Ephesians 2:6-7, He “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” What we learn from the first three chapters in Ephesians is that the battle over our souls has been decisively and categorically won by Jesus! However, the prince of the power of the air, the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness want to do whatever they can to take you out by any means necessary!
Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly said, “There is no grosser or greater misrepresentation of the Christian message than that which depicts it as offering us a life of ease with no battle and no struggle at all.... The first thing we must realize is that the Christian life is a warfare, that we are strangers in an alien land, that we are in the enemy’s territory.”[1] According to Paul, this is a warfare that we are in, it is a warfare we have to engage, it is a warfare that is ongoing, and it is a warfare with demonic cosmic forces that are determined to fight until the very end. However, our strength to fight comes from a power that is not our own!
Our War Requires Us to Be on High Alert
In order to fight and to engage the spiritual war we find ourselves in, we must be alert, and we must be strong! The very first word is, “Finally.” After all that he has written about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the Church of Jesus Christ that have been filled with doctrinal exhortations, firm warnings, and great encouragements, the apostle saved what we read in Ephesians 6:10-18 for last not because it is least important but because of the great threat that faces Christ’s Church! The word “finally” is Paul’s bugle call for the Christians to assemble for action! As Sam Storms observed in his book on spiritual warfare: “There is never a truce or ceasefire. Satan takes no holidays. He observes no Sabbath rest. There may be times of greater or lesser intensity, but never a time to relax or let down your spiritual guard.”[2]
Notice where Ephesians 6:10 is placed! It is strategically and intentionally placed just after the section in Ephesians where Paul explains what a Christ-centered marriage looks like, how Christlikeness ought to be displayed in parent and child relationships, and how we can be Christ-like through our work. It was through the institution of marriage, one of the great gifts of God, that Satan attacked for the purpose of destroying the relationship Adam and Eve were created to enjoy with God and each other and how their sin affected their children and how they managed the earth through work.
When Eve was tempted by the serpent while Adam stood and watched, their struggle was not only with flesh and blood, but with the demonic cosmic forces of evil! When Cain murdered Abel, his struggle was not only with flesh and blood, but with the demonic cosmic forces of evil, and it has been that way ever since! Do not miss how it was that the demonic cosmic forces of evil attacked Adam and his family. Satan did not tempt Adam and Eve while they were on high alert and actively engaged in the work of God, he tempted them while they were both idol and their spiritual senses were dull. When Cain decided to murder Abel, he increasingly became insensitive to the things that pleased God until he finally caved to the sin that God warned was lurking at the door of his heart, and instead of mastering it, he gave into his sin and murdered his younger brother (see Gen. 4:1-8).
We will talk about this more when we look at verse 11 and how it is we can stand against the devil’s schemes, but for now I will say that you cannot expect to walk with wisdom or in a manor worthy of your calling as a born again follower of Jesus if you are not on high alert and ready for the kind of hand-to-hand combat that is always before you Christian! You may not be able to see the devil or his demonic hoards with your physical eyes, but as John Stott once wrote: “Beneath the surface, an unseen spiritual battle is raging”[3]
Our War-Time Strength is From God’s Might
Now, notice the urgency in the apostle’s language! First a command: “Be strong” (v. 10), then “stand firm” (v. 11), “resist” (v. 13a), “stand firm” (v. 13b), and then another command: “Stand firm” (v. 14). But how are we to be strong, how are we to stand firm, how are we to resist? We are to do it in the power of the God who raised Jesus from the grave! The Greek word Paul uses for “strong” is the same word he uses in Ephesians 1:19.[4] The point is that the source of our power does not come from within, but from an infinitely greater power source! Remember Paul’s prayer for the Christian at the beginning of his epistle: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Then Paul uses the same language in Ephesians 1:19-20 that he uses in 6:10, consider the apostle’s carefully chosen words in 1:19-20 again: “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...” Our power comes from His might and nowhere else! It doesn’t come from our talents, it doesn’t come from our skills, it doesn’t come from our education, and it doesn’t come from how many verses of the Bible we fill our brains with; all those things are good, but they are not the place from where we draw our power!
We have got to get this straight in our churches and especially at Meadowbrooke! We have seen several pastors fall recently, three of the men that come to mind have had such a profound impact upon my life such as Ravi Zacharias, Tony Evens, and just this week... Steven Lawson! I have the books these men have written on my bookshelves, I have listened to scores of their sermons, and their ministries have ended due to sexual sin! For five years Steven Lawson preached in his church and at huge conferences while maintaining an affair with a woman a third of his age.
There have been many Christian song writers and worship leaders who have either renounced their faith in the name of deconstruction and we have sung their songs with the impression that they were motivated by God. It is possible to have a demonized or even a wolf in sheep’s clothing lead in our worship services and assume his motivations are pure when instead they are predatory. Oh how easy it is to trust in skill, and charm, and beauty, through what we see and feel and assume the power is from God when it is not from Him. How easy it is to become idol while our spiritual senses dull to the onslaught of the demonic!
In Ephesians we are told repeatedly where it is that our source of power must come from if we are going to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1). Notice where it is that Christ is seated in Ephesians 1:21-23; He is seated, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:21-23). Do you know what that means? What it means is that He has conquered the rulers, powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places! They are all under the heel of His omnipotent foot! All the might you will ever need to be strong, to stand firm, and to resist in the evil day is in Jesus.
However, if you are not abiding in Jesus, if you are not pursuing Jesus, if He is not to your life and breath, then you will grow dull in your spiritual senses! If God’s word is not the truth you are putting into your spiritual veins, if you are feeding your mind and soul more of what this world wants you to consume, if you are more interested in playing than you are in preparing to stand before Jesus... then you are easy prey for the enemy to devour!
If you are a Christian, you have been chosen by God to be holy and blameless in Jesus (1:4-6). If you are a Christian, you have been redeemed through the blood of the Lamb of God for another city God has for you (1:7-12). If you are a Christian, you have been sealed by God’s Holy Spirit and have all of the Holy Spirit you will ever need to live in the kind of divine power to stand firm against the devil and his schemes (1:13-14). How much of your heart does the Father have? How much of your allegiance does the Son have? How much of your life does the Holy Spirit have?
What changes can you make to be more alert and to stand in the strength of almighty God? Permit me to make some recommendations:
Cut back on the time you spend on social media or what have on your watch list, and read your Bible more...Instead of being consumed by secular music, listen more to praise music during the week. Music is in our DNA, and it is something we will enjoy throughout eternity, so start filling your mind and heart with praise now.Pray! If you are not used to praying, start by praying the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). If you only pray a few minutes out of day, add another five minutes to your prayer time. If you do not have a time scheduled to pray, find a time in the day and spend 5,10,15, 30 minutes, or more in prayerful conversation with God.Finally, remember that your strength is not in your ability, skills, or talents when it comes to what God wants to do in your world. Our strength must come from God’s might! Maybe instead of rushing for a solution to fix whatever is the biggest problem you are facing in your life, you should do what we read in Psalm 46:10-11,
“Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.” The Lord of armies is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
[1] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13, (Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks; 1976), p. 21.
[2] Sam Storms, Understanding Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Reflective; 2021), p. 290.
[3] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 175.
[4] In Ephesians 1:19, Paul uses dynamis (power); in 6:10, he uses endynamoō (strong). Both words are from the same root.
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The Glory of Christ is the Beauty of His Church
19 sep 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
In Genesis 1:26-27, we learn that both Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. He created Adam and Eve as male and female, and he created them equal as image bearers of God. When God created mankind, He declared: “‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26-27). Listen, every time you see a human being, whether male or female, what is seen is a physical representation of the reality and presence of God. No other creature represents God in this way except humans!
When there was no suitable helper for Adam after naming the animals, we learn from Genesis 2:18-25 that God created from his rib one who was suitable for him. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18). So, we are told that God “caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept” (v. 21), and from Adam’s rib, God created Eve. Adam’s response to Eve was: “At last this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man” (v. 23). What follows Adam’s statement in Genesis 2:24 is what makes marriage so special and unlike any relationship that a person can have; it is also the verse the apostle Paul quotes in Ephesians 5:31, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
The reason why I have chosen to continue with my plan to preach on these verses in Ephesians 5:22-33 is because of what Paul said about Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:32. Listen carefully to what is written: “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” I cannot remember who wrote it, but someone said that humans are the physical representation of the reality and presence of God. Just as it is true that we, as image bearers of the living God, are the physical representation of the reality and presence of God, it is equally true that marriage between a man and a woman is the physical representation of the reality and presence of Jesus’ church as His bride, and His great, faithful, and uncompromising love for her.
What marriage represents is the reason why we are told in Holy Scripture, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers” (Heb. 13:4). It is also the reason why Paul wrote that, “sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among the saints; and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Eph. 5:3-4). However, Paul did not stop there! He continued with these sobering words that we all must take very seriously: “For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (v. 5). And just in case you are tempted to view these words as archaic, outdated, or that your feelings trump the authority of such words, listen very carefully to the verse that follows Paul’s warning about the danger the sexually immoral, impure, or greedy person faces if that person does not turn from such sins: “See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (v. 6).
The original title of my sermon for this Sunday was, “The Grandeur of Marriage.” I believe God wants us to focus on the main point of Ephesians 5:22-33, and it is tucked away in verses 26-27, which states: “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” In fact, I would like to submit to you that what Ephesians 5:22-33 teaches us is this: Just as humans are the physical representation of the reality of God, so marriage between a man and a woman is the physical representation of the reality and presence of Jesus’ church as His bride.
In light of that, I have titled today’s sermon: “The glory of Christ is the beauty of His church.” Instead of focusing our attention on the sins of a pastor and brother, our attention needs to be on Jesus and what He wants of us. Now, before we begin, I do want to read for you 1 Timothy 5:19-22, which states:
“Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” (1 Tim. 5:19–22)
We did have multiple credible accusations that the one under church discipline continued to lie and deceive; even when he was brought before the Board of Elders, he continued to lie and misrepresent the truth. Our hope is and will remain that he will repent of his sins. Our hearts remain broken over our need and responsibility to remove him from his position as Pastor of Discipleship and Pastor.
What I want to do with our time this morning is to step back and focus on our own hearts by allowing the word of God to wash over us as His people.
Jesus Intends to Present His Bride as Holy and Blameless
All throughout Ephesians, we see that the reason why we have been chosen by God the Father, redeemed by Jesus the Son, and sealed by God the Holy Spirit for your holiness and blamelessness in Christ! How will He do it? With and through His Word! What does His Word say?
The Word of God says, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love” (Eph. 1:4)
His Word says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
The Word says, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Eph. 5:1–2)
The Word says, “Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
The Word says, “‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise...” (Eph. 5:11–15)
Jesus intends for His people to pursue holiness! The only way we can pursue a Christ-centered holiness is if we flee from the sins that lead us away from Christ! The Bible calls us to, “Flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). We must, “Flee sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 6:18). But it is not only sexual sins that we must flee from, but we must also flee from any sin that threatens to entangle us, and in case you are wondering what sins are there that do not threaten to entangle us? The answer is that there is no safe sin, they all threaten to entangle, and they all have the ability to destroy, rob, maim, and kill! The list of sins is long, but here is a short list given to us in Proverbs 6:16-19, “There are six things that the Lordhates, seven that are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who declares lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Prov. 6:16–19).
Jesus has given to His church spiritually qualified and gifted persons for the equipping and building up of his church to teach and preach His word as one way to cleanse His people, “by the washing of water with the word...” (v. 26). What does this mean? In the ancient east, before the bride was presented to the bridegroom, she would receive a cleansing bath with water before she was adorned in her bridal dress and presented to her groom. We, as the Bride of Christ, are also being cleansed, and it is done through the Word of God. We are called to this individually, but there are men like myself that are called to administer the word of God and to show you how to bath yourself in the Word of God... because the best thing I can give you is not what Pastor Keith thinks, but what the Word of God says! I am fallible but God’s word is infallible, for: “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
This is why when a pastor, elder, or church leader fails to meet the qualifications to be in such roles as listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9, such people are a danger to Jesus’s church that He loves, cherishes, is sanctifying, and has called to His Bride, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Those of us called by Jesus to serve His Bride to equip His people will, “incur a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1); for this reason, we are to take passages like 1 Timothy 5:19-22 seriously.
I am deeply grieved and heartbroken by the actions of the one under church discipline. I am crushed by the damage his actions have caused others. My prayer is that he will take 1 John 1:9 to heart which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I also know that we are warned that what happened to our brother can happen to anyone in this room. If a pastor can fall into unrepentant sin, then so can you, because our, “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8); intends to bring you harm and he is really good at doing it!
There are sins represented in this room such as gossip, sexual immorality, an unforgiving spirit, and more. Some of you are so committed to your sin, that you refuse to turn from them out of a fear that you will be exposed, or you believe the enemy’s lie that you are so stuck in your sin that you are unable to turn from it. Here is what Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:12–13).
Our adversary is fiercely loud, but Jesus has ripped out his teeth! You may be overwhelmed by your sin, but you still have time to run to the One who still makes all things new (2 Cor. 5:17): “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Jesus Will Present His Bride in All Her Glory as Holy and Blameless
How will Jesus present His Bride in all her glory as holy and blameless? He will do it, “by the washing of water with the word” (v. 26) along with the power of His Holy Spirit (1:18-19a; 3:20-21). God always uses the authority of His word and the power of His Spirit to do the things only He is capable of doing in our lives. Jesus is committed to not leaving His church the way He found her. What that means is that Philippians 1:6 is for you: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.” However, the only way you will experience the thing He wants to do in you is if you listen to His word and obey it. So dear Christian, what are you going to do with what you heard today? Is Jesus asking you today, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (see Luke 6:46-49)?
Jesus will indeed present His Bride in all her glory as holy and blameless because He loves her too much to leave her the way He found her! What will her wedding day be like? It will be greater than any marriage you hope for or have dreamed to experience. In Revelation 19:7-10, we are given a small peek through the curtain of eternity, and this is what we see:
Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
This is why Jesus takes the sins within and by those who belong to His church very seriously. It is the same seriousness we see demonstrated in the way the sin of Achan was addressed (Josh. 7:1-26), the sins of Eli and his two worthless sons (1 Sam. 2:12-36), and the sins of David with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1-12:23). It is against the backdrop of the above examples I want you to consider as the most appropriate way I feel I can conclude my sermon:
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Heb. 6:1–6)
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26–31)
Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1–2)
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The Magnificence of Marriage
10 sep 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
I heard a well-meaning pastor and theologian say by way of application from his reading of Ephesians 5:22-25 these words: “Godly women want to feed their men. Godly women are designed to make the sandwiches. This is not an absolute law, like the one about making babies, and there are times when a man fends for himself and makes quite a decent sandwich. But in the general scheme of things, the apostle Paul wants the women to make the sandwiches.”[1] My question to you, is that what Ephesians 5:22-25 is teaching?
So, here is how I hope to answer that question. I hope to answer the above question by showing you how the willful subjecting of the wife to her husband and the sacrificial love of the husband for his wife is the apostle Paul’s way of showing us what Ephesians 4:1-3 looks like in marriage; consider these verses in light of marriage: “...walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
The way I am going to show you what sandwiches have to do with marriage is by explaining what Ephesians 5:22-25 is saying, then I will show what these verses mean for your marriage, and finally, we will look at some examples of Jesus and what He thinks about sandwich making.
What is Ephesians 5:22-25 Really Saying?
So what is Ephesians saying? Let me begin answering that question by unpacking what the Greek word hypotassō(ὑποτάσσω) means; it can be translated as subject, subordinate, or submit. Although every major translation except the NASB (95 and 2020 editions) decided to use the word “submit” instead of “subject” I believe “subject” is a better translation. So what is the big deal? Why do I think it matters how hypotassō is translated? In the most literal sense, the word means “to order oneself under” and in the case of the wife, she is to willingly order herself under the headship of her husband, which is much less confusing than “submit” and leaves less room for this verse to be abused in the ways it has been used in an attempt to subjugate Christian women. This is why I believe “subject” is a better way to translate this word, besides the fact that most of the time the word is used in the New Testament, it is rightfully translated as “subject.”
Permit me to show you two other places hypotassō is used and why “subject” is a better translation of the word for Ephesians in the way wives ought to respond to their husbands. The first is Luke 2:41-52 when Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem with 12-year-old Jesus to celebrate the Passover. Because they most likely traveled with friends and family, they did not realize they left Jesus in Jerusalem on their way back home to Nazareth. So, Joseph and Mary turned back (probably in a panic) to go get 12-year-old Jesus and it is in Luke 2:48-51 that we see how hypotassō is used and translated:
When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject [hypotassō] to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
What did Jesus do at the age of 12 as fully God and fully human? How did he respond to his mother and stepfather as the rightful King of kings and Lord of lords? He willingly placed Himself under the headship of his mother and stepfather as a 12-year-old boy. Jesus was in Jerusalem because He had to be in His “Father’s house” but returned to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary because He was still under their headship.
The other place the word is used is in Romans 13:1. Remember that the Empire of Rome wanted to suppress Christianity, and it was because of Paul’s preaching that Rome eventually sentenced him to death by beheading, yet Paul wrote, “Every person is to be subject [hypotassō] to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” Paul willingly subjected himself under the Roman government but refused to disobey God when Romans demanded him to do so.
With the same humility that led Jesus to subject Himself under the authority of Joseph and Mary, the wife is to subject herself under the headship of her husband. With the same understanding and trust Paul had of God and in His sovereign reign over governments the wife is called to subject herself to her husband knowing that he will have to answer for every decision made in the home and will be held to account for how he loved his wife who is first and foremost a daughter of God Almighty.
Now, what is the scope that the wife is to subject herself under the headship of her husband? Look at verse 24, for it here that we are told: “But the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.” Paul is not saying that you, wives, must be submissive in everything your husband tells you to do but to subject yourself under his headship as the one God has called to lead as one called by God to protect and provide as priest over your home out of a motivation to lay down his life for your good out of the kind of love that led Jesus to a cross: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v. 25).
What Does Ephesians 5:22-25 Mean for Life and Marriage?
So, what does Ephesians 5:22-25 mean for your marriage? What it means, is that, unlike the world’s perverted view of sex and marriage, you are to walk in a manner worthy of your calling in your marriage, as a parent or as a child (6:1-4), and in your obedience to those placed in authority over you, who you work for, or how you exercise your God-given authority (6:5-9).
Think about what we have seen in Ephesians 4:1-5:21 as the application of who you are as one who once was dead but now is alive in Christ. You were redeemed and saved to walk in the good works Jesus redeemed us for (Eph. 2:10). As a child of God and His representation in a dark and evil world, you are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...” (4:1). In light of your calling as a child of light, we are commanded to be, “imitators of God, as beloved children” and as beloved children, we are to “walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2). Now in everything that we say and do, we are to, “be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil” (vv. 15-16). So, when it comes to what we say and how we treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of whether you are single, married, employed, a student and living at home with mom and dad, caring for your elderly parents, we are commanded by God through the apostle Paul to, “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21).
But what does Christlikeness look like in marriage and what does Ephesians 5:22-25 have to do with making sandwiches? Here is the way I see it: With the same humility Christ demonstrated and we are all called to practice (see Phil. 2:3-8), wives are to subject themselves to their husbands with the same humility Jesus demonstrated on earth during His incarnation as fully human while remaining fully God. With the same selfless love that compelled Jesus to live the life we could never live and die the death we all deserved; husbands have and demonstrate for their wives. With the same honor and dependence Jesus demonstrated on earth regarding God the Father, so believing Children are to honor their parents. And, with the same willingness to subject Himself under the cross imposed by the Roman empire, so Christian slaves and employees are to obediently bear the burden they are called to with the same dedication Christ had not to Rome, but for the glory of God the Father. As a wife, or as a husband, or as a child, or as a parent, or as a boss, or as a slave/employee... we are all commanded out of love and reverent fear for Christ to, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1), and to do so as “imitators of God, as beloved children, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2).
What Does Jesus Say about Who Should be Making the Sandwiches in Life and Marriage?
Now, a word about who Paul expected to make sandwiches when he wrote Ephesians. The motivation of subjecting yourself under the headship of your husband is not because you are obligated to submit to whatever he wants, but because of a motivation for your love for Jesus. This is the point of verse 22 and Colossians 3:18, which states: “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Then, just a few verses later, we read: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:20-21). Just because you are married does not mean that you are now a slave; if you are a follower of Christ who happens to be a wife or thinking about marriage, it is out of a radical love and deep reverence for Christ that in wanting to glorify Him in all that you do and knowing that He loves you infinitely more than any man on earth can... that you are willing to subject yourself to under the headship of your husband because of God’s design for marriage.
Now, a word to the men of Meadowbrooke: Consider the ways Jesus demonstrated His love for His Church during His incarnation. We do not have the time to look at every example, but I do want you to consider some of them that we discover by reading the four gospels:
Well, for starters, Despite the cold shoulder Jesus received from the people He came to die for, His love compelled Him to persistently pursue them; how are you to love your wife? Be an imitator of God who is mindful of the great love and rich mercy you received because of God’s amazing grace, and walk in love before your wife and children, “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (5:1-2).Jesus demonstrated His love for His Bride even when she said and did things that frustrated Him (see Matt. 16:5-12 as an example).Jesus grieved with His Bride when she suffered loss (see John 11:1-44).Jesus loved His Bride when He washed the feet of His disciples in the upper room (John 13:5-20)Jesus loved His Bride even while she could not stay awake during His hour of need and still prayed for her wellbeing (Luke 22:39-46; John 17).Jesus loved His Bride even when She denied She knew Him (John 18:25-27).Jesus loved His Bride even though he was abused emotionally and physically because of His love for Her (John 18:12-24, 28-19:15).Jesus loved His Bride even to the point of carrying a cross She deserved for the purpose of dying a death He did not deserve on her behalf (John 19:16-30).
So, men of Meadowbrooke Church, if you love your wives in the same way Christ loved His bride, are you really going to demand that she make you a sandwich? I do not believe for one second that Paul expected the wife to make the sandwiches! I believe the point he was making is that if the wife and husband are walking with Jesus out of a reverence and love for Him, their marriage will be stronger for it. She will subject herself under his headship in humility out of her reverence and love for Jesus, and he will want to love his wife deeply and sacrificially because of his deep love and reverence for Jesus.
Here is why I believe Paul had in mind that both the wife and the husband would make the sandwiches. Between the two, the kind of love that leads them to one another begins with Philia (friendship love) which has grown into an unconditional agape (unconditional love), and the fruit of that philia and agape love is eros (erotic/physical love). The fruit of a Christ-centered marriage should be the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
The other reason why I reject the ridiculous notion that Paul wants the wife to make the sandwiches is because of 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 in a relationship the fruit of a genuine friendship (philia) and unconditional love (agape) is physical and erotic love (eros). Listen to these verses carefully and you tell me if the woman is the only one called to make a sandwich?
Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Men and women, what if we took Ephesians 5:1-2 seriously regarding everything in life that is important? What if we applied Ephesians 5:21 in our marriages, parenting, place of employment, and in our churches? What if we looked at our spouse out of a motivation of Christ-like humility and love not out of selfishness, but a giving of oneself to the other and applied that humility and love to sandwich making, dirty dishes, diapers, to-do lists, walks, dates, and even the marriage bed?
The top five reasons why marriages end in divorce are as follows: 1) Too much conflict, 2) a lack of commitment, 3) infidelity, 4) a lack of physical intimacy, and 5) communication problems. If we take Ephesians 5 seriously, I believe a Christ-centered humility from the wife and a Christ-compelled love from the husband will do five things for your marriage:
Christ-centered humility and love will reduce the kind of pride that leads to conflict.Christ-centered humility and love open your eyes to the value of your spouse and marriage.Christ-centered humility and love will help prevent your eyes from wandering and compel you to fight against sexual sin.Christ-centered humility and love will free both the wife and the husband to give themselves sexually to the other for the good and pleasure of the other more frequently.Finally, Christ-centered humility and love will significantly reduce your communication problems because humility and love do wonders for marital hearing loss.
[1] Doug Wilson, The Natural Use of the Woman (YouTube Channel: Blog & Mablog; Jan. 24, 2022)
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The Marvel of Marriage
5 sep 2024· Meadowbrooke Church
If there were ever a sentence in the Bible to serve as a trigger for anger, resentment, and resistance towards the Bible it is most likely Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” The reason some women bristle at verses like Ephesians 5:22-24 is because they have not known the kind of love husbands are called to demonstrate in verse 25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her...”
Before we can even begin to address these verses, I need you to hear something. Marriage is an institution created by God to be celebrated, enjoyed, protected, and fought for within the covenant relationship between God and one man and one woman for a lifetime. However, if marriage (as God’s good gift) is something that you have made into the ultimate thing for your life, then you have potentially done two things:
You have set your bar way too low.You have made an idol out of the institution of marriage.
When it comes to marriage, how can you set the bar way too low by making it the ultimate thing you aspire to? By making marriage the ultimate thing, you miss its ultimate purpose in that it serves as the only institution on earth designed to reflect Christ’s relationship with the Church and the Church’s relationship with Christ (v. 32). What is marriage? It is a “great mystery” because it is, “an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one” (v. 32; NLT). In fact, in reference to the mystery of marriage, the ESV, NIV, and CSB translate the Greek word megas (μέγας) as “profound” while the KJV, NASB, and NLT use the word “great.” The word can also be translated: large, surprising, or prominent. What is the point? Marriage is a big deal for reasons much more significant than two humans who want to spend a lifetime together.
When you read what is written in Ephesians 5 concerning marriage, you must read and study these verses within the context of everything written in Ephesians 1:1 - 5:21. Let me help you understand Ephesians 5:22-33 in light of the overall context of the epistle:
In Ephesians 1:1-19, the Christian was chosen before the foundation of the world to be redeemed and forgiven of all sin exclusively through the shed blood of Jesus upon a cross. If you are a Christian, at the moment you believed in Jesus, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of becoming holy and blameless as God’s treasured possession to the praise of His glory, so that Jesus, who is Lord over everything (vv. 19b-21), would be head over all things to the church (v. 22-23). In Christ, those who were dead in their sins are made alive according to Ephesians 2:1-10 because of the rich mercy, great love, and sufficient grace of God. The reason why you, Christian, were made alive... is to live out your calling as God’s, “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2:1-10). Now that you are alive with Christ, you are a citizen “with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord...” (2:19-21). Because you are in Jesus, you now have a new identity, and as His redeemed people, we all can, “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” as His Church (3:14-19).As those who were once far off but have been brought near as Jesus’ redeemed people, we are to be known for walking a better way as followers of Jesus, indeed, we are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...” (4:1). We do this, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (vv. 2-3).As the Church of Jesus Christ, we are His holy Bride and no longer characterized by the “useless deeds of darkness” (5:3-13) but are now “children of light” (5:8-9) who walk with wisdom while the days are evil (vv. 15-16). We do this as the “holy temple of the Spirit of God” and “body of Christ”, who will experience a marriage as His beloved Bride. Now, as those who belong to Christ, we are to diligently keep, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” since we belong to each other as, “one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6).
If you are a Christian, then you are the Bride of Christ, and as the Bride of Christ, we come to what I consider to be the “hermeneutical key” for understanding what Paul states in the verses to follow regarding marriage, children, and work. Here it is: “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21).
God’s Intended Culture for Marriage
It is important to point out that what proceeds what Paul says to wives and husbands is one long sentence in verses 18-21 that begins with an imperative: “do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit...” So, the culture of a healthy marriage begins by being filled with the Holy Spirit instead of filling yourself with something that leads to debauchery. The way to do that is provided in a list of four participles: 1) Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 2) singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord, 3) always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father, and 4) subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
If you are wondering what Ephesians 5:19-21 looks like in the home, the point is not the songs you sing to one another, but what it is that moves you and motivates you as a wife or as a husband. What Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:19-20 is not all that different than what he wrote to the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (3:16-17).
To “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” is to do all things, both in word and deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Greek word for “subject” is hypotassō (ὑποτάσσω) and it literally means to “put oneself under” another; here we are to humble ourselves in this way out of a reverence for Jesus. In the case of Ephesians 5:21, we Christians are to mutually subject/submit to one another out of a humility that is empowered by the Holy Spirit which is best experienced as you are filled by the Holy Spirit. The best way I can help you understand what Paul is communicating here is to see it against the backdrop of Philippians 2:3-8,
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.
Jesus, while equal to the Father, when He took on flesh during His incarnation, humbled Himself by taking the form of a bondservant. What Jesus did, is that He subjected Himself under the authority of the Father to accomplish what was necessary for our redemption. We are told that we must have the same mindset of Jesus in the way we treat one another. Never was Jesus less than God, but He did willingly place Himself under the headship of the Father while He remained fully God and at the same time fully human. We are to humble ourselves in the same way as brothers and sisters in a world where individualism and power struggles are part of the dog-eat-dog culture of the world that we live in.
So, against the backdrop of Philippians 2:3-8, consider again Ephesians 5:21, “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (v. 21). Do you see it? Do you see why this verse serves as a type of linchpin that joins what we read in verses 15-20 and the section in Ephesians that addresses husbands, wives, children, and slaves?
How are Wives to “Subject” Themselves to Their Husbands?
So now we come to the word “subject” and the way it is used for how wives must respond to their husbands and how it is not used to instruct the way husbands are to respond to their wives. We will look more deeply at the husband-and-wife relationship as it is explained in these verses next week, but for now I want to set things up for next week in a way that still helps you today.
Within the covenant of marriage, a wife is to, “subject” herself to her husband, “as to the Lord” (v. 22). The husband is not commanded to do the same regarding his wife. Instead, he is commanded to love his wife “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v. 25). Sinclair Ferguson states in light of Ephesians 5:21-22, there is, of course, an appropriate mutual submission in marriage. The exhortation of 5:21 is to be obeyed by all Christians within the context of their mutual fellowship! But that is not the only aspect to the Christian life. Mutual submission no more obliterates the command in 5:22 than it rescinds the command of Hebrews 13:7 ‘Obey your leaders’!”[1]
When it comes to marriage, the God who invented marriage offers a better way than the perversion of marriage propagated by the world. Indeed, marriage was always intended to express, demonstrate, and point to a greater marriage that every Christian was chosen, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit to experience regardless of your marital status on planet earth (more on this in two weeks)! The better way for the Christian woman, who happens to be a wife, is to illustrate how Christians (the Church) respond to the great love of Christ that compelled Him to willingly go to the cross to redeem her; the response of Jesus’ wife is to be that of joyful submission. In a world that balks at any notion that a married woman must subject/submit to her husband; the Christian is called to a better way.
Listen, just as our response to Jesus should be one of deep and joyful submission to Him because of the love we have experienced from Him, the wife is to joyfully place herself under the loving headship of her husband in response to his self-sacrificing love, care, and protection for his bride. The command for wives to subject themselves to their husbands has nothing to do with value or importance, but God’s design for marriage and the kind of thriving, joy, and companionship He intends His people to enjoy within the covenant of marriage that He instituted.
What does it mean to “subject” yourself to your husband, as to the Lord? Well, it certainly does not mean that you become his doormat so that he can treat you however he wants. There is only One Lord, and that Lord is Jesus Christ. There is a chain of command, and your first obligation is to obey Jesus as your Lord.
The reason why I believe the NASB offers a better translation of hypotassō (subject) is because the wife is not commanded to enter subjugation under her husband as an inferior person to a superior human. When a woman enters marriage, she does so as a different but equal counterpart to the man she loves. The wife willingly and humbly places herself under her husband’s headship out of a deep trust and respect for him in response to the selfless love she has experienced and rightfully anticipates she will continue to enjoy throughout a lifetime of marriage when they come together as a one-flesh union. Again, Sinclair Ferguson’s perspective on Ephesians 5:22-24 is very much appreciated: “Marriage is not a recipe for the subjugation of a woman, but a blueprint for her true freedom in a healthy, loving relationship with her husband.”[2] Richard Coekin, in his little commentary on Ephesians, states:
As he [God] committed himself sacrificially to us in covenanted and exclusive love, so the most precious aspect of all our human relationships, and especially marriage, is to love and be loved, not merely with sentimental affection or sensual desire, but with sustained sacrificial kindness in every season of life—an unconditional love based not upon the other’s glamorous looks, but upon a commitment to be exclusively devoted to their best interests. And what a stunningly wonderful blessing a happy Christian marriage is![3]
However, for some of you, your marriage seems anything but a “wonderful blessing.” Others of you are afraid of entering into marriage because of what you witnessed growing up. The sad truth is that even in the Church, men and women have bought into the lie of a version of marriage that does not reflect what we read in the Bible. You need to hear that when it comes to marriage or any other relationship for that matter, God offers a better way. Nevertheless, to experience that better way, it takes two who desire to walk in a manner worthy of their calling as followers of Jesus for God’s design for marriage to be experienced on some level. In the weeks to come, I hope to offer you some level of help and encouragement for your marriage and your desire to follow Jesus well.
Before I conclude, permit me to address the woman and then the men of this church.
To the women in this church: You are created in the image of God and there is no man whose love is greater for you than the one your heavenly Father has for you. Any abuse you suffered growing up, the careless words spoken by any of the men in your life, or any treatment of you that has reduced you to an object is NOT a reflection of God’s love for you. You are valued because God has placed value upon you as His daughter! There is no marriage or situation where it is acceptable or okay for you to be abused or mistreated as a daughter of the God who loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die to redeem you. If you are in a marriage that seems more of a misery than the beautiful marvel it is intended to be, I want to encourage you to hang on and trust that the God who raises the dead can bring life to your marriage. If you are in what you believe to be a dead or failing marriage, I would like to give you an assignment this week: Pray for your husband, that the God who created out of nothing, can do something with the man in your marriage.
To the men in this church: Everything I said to the women also applies to you. It is possible to be in a relationship where you are demeaned, demonized, and devalued by the women in your life (more on that next week). It is not okay for you to be treated poorly or talked down to or disrespected by your wife or children. I will say though, that we men tend to set the culture and spiritual climate of our homes; if you have not done a good job at doing that, it is not too late. Permit me to give you an assignment this week, read John 13:1 - 19:30 and take note on what Ephesians 5:25 really means for your marriage: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” Especially take note of what you can do differently or better to obey what is commanded of you as the husband of your wife.
Finally, the God who raised Jesus from the grave cares more about your marriage than you ever could, so trust and believe that He can make something beautiful out of your mess. It is on this point that I leave you with Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
[1] Sinclair B. Ferguson, Let’s Study: Ephesians (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust; 2021), 149.
[2] Ibid., 151.
[3] Richard Coekin, Ephesians for You (The Good Book Company; 2019), 164-65.
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