Called Near and Far (Ephesians 2:11-13)

“Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:11–13, NASB95)

Paul is writing to a largely Gentile (or non-Jewish) audience. Ephesus, though it had some Jews who had fled there in the face of persecution and possibly for commerce, was a non-Jewish area and the church was made up of those people who reflected the area. These were the ones who were separated from and frequently looked down upon by the Jews (the “Circumcision”) because of their not being Jews (“Uncircumcision”). This distinction of circumcision goes back to a commandment given to Abraham by God after God made him a covenant or promise. This covenant is recorded for us in Genesis 17:1-8 where we read, “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”” (Genesis 17:1–8, NASB95)

But God also told Abraham that the people needed to respond in keeping that covenant. We go on to read that they were to be marked as children of the covenant by all male children being circumcised on the eighth day after their birth. “God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. “A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. “But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”” (Genesis 17:9–14, NASB95) And this became the way of the Jews. They were a special people; chosen and set apart by God. They became the people of the “Circumcision.” And by the time of Christ, those who were not of the circumcision were largely thought to be outside God’s plan even though God had told Abram that he would become the father of many nations.

It was to these non-Jews that Paul wrote and told them that what made them different was not something that man did to mark his body, but something that Christ did to mark them for eternity. At one time they did not know the God of Abraham. They had no interest in Him, nor did they have any expectation of receiving anything from Him. They were outsiders who had no hope, being alienated and without God.

BUT….

He went on to say, “But now in Christ….” These believers who lived apart from Israel, apart from the God of Israel, and apart from the promise to Israel were still people loved by God. When God made man and placed him in the garden there was no need for the covenant. Man was created to have a regular, intimate relationship with Him. But man sinned and became spiritually dead and separated from God. A chasm was created and God put man out of the garden. Then as Scripture goes on to record, there were those who God found faithful, but for the most part man continued to be exceedingly evil.

In putting man out of the garden God did not do so without also making the promise that He would step in to intervene and conquer the evil that had come between them. His process for doing this was by choosing Abram (Abraham) through whom a people would be born who would be shown His mercy and through whom God would eventually even bring to them a Savior. Yet, it was this very Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord that they rejected and had crucified, only to rise again on the third day. It was this Savior who was sent not only to bring salvation to the Jews who believed, but to all of mankind of whom these Gentiles in Ephesus were a part.

The Father’s plan was reveled in the Son that through Him, the Son, that all men will be saved; that God’s salvation would spread to all of the nations, resulting in those who had once been far off being brought close. The Gentiles didn’t do anything special to deserve God diverting His attention to them, just as the Jews did nothing special to receive God’s promise in the first place. All of these decisions were ones made by God according to His own counsel. And as a result, every one of them who believed did so because they were the elect of God, chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Even today, those of us who have been saved by faith have been saved because God chose us and gave us salvation in His Son. We have been brought close to God and enabled to have a relationship with Him because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ who cleanses us from all unrighteousness and His resurrection which gives to us new life. There is not room to think of any of us being more favored, but rather to equally respond to our God with extreme thankfulness as we realize that He is not done and we have no idea who is yet to be drawn near and be saved.

“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:39, NASB95) 

Made to do Good (Ephesians 2:10)

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)

Years ago on a visit to my parent’s I noticed that their whirligigs were falling apart in the weather (those things in the yard that spin their wings or propellers in the wind). So, I took some of them home with men and repaired them. In the process I decided that these were kind of neat, and I wanted to try my hand a making some. But rather than doing what someone else had already done, I decided to play with them and design my own. I also love birds, and I took my love for birds and the desire to make these whirligigs and bring them together. Now, I call it my therapy as I look to these birds, draw them out on paper, transfer the drawing to a hard surface for a pattern, go out into my garage and cut them out, round the edges, sand them, and prepare them for painting. It is here that they go from an idea to a shaped piece of wood. But there is still nothing really to distinguish what they are or what they will be useful for. It is not until I apply the paint that their identity is known and when I apply the wings that their purpose is prepared. Over the years I have continually added new ones and have tweaked them time after time to improve them. But my greatest joy has been being able to make them and put them into the hands of another to enjoy. It is here that they see them work, but rarely with any idea of what went into the process of bringing them there.

In verse 10 of Ephesians we read that we are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Think about it. We were created by God for good works. This in itself is an amazing thing that our God would have chosen us from before the foundation of the world apart from anything that we would ever do. He made us and He chose us. But He also did this with a result in mind that we would in turn return His affection in faithful service to Him in order to accomplish good works. Left to itself this truth could easily be taken to the point that we then, after having been saved by Christ, are released to go out and come up with what we can do in response. This could easily lead to our running around trying to show our thankfulness by again trying to gain His pleasure in our performance.

But the truth of the matter is very simple. We were not saved because He was pleased with us, and neither can we afterward improve on His choice. Sure, we were chosen before we were born and this includes not only our salvation but how we would serve afterward. This is what Paul goes on to say, we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Wow. God has a plan for my life. What an amazing realization. The things that He had laid out for me to do, just like my salvation, were laid out in advance. He picked the spiritual suit I am to wear and He laid it out for me such that it would fit. He made me for these things.

As I was thinking about this my mind was drawn to another passage of Scripture in 2 Timothy, where in the English Standard Version (ESV) we read, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV) God gives us what we need to be equipped for what He set apart for us to do, and backing up we see that a primary way of discovering His equipping and His direction is by spending time in His Word. He gave it to us. The Spirit moved in the hearts of men to write His Word so that we would have it, and then it was preserved so that we might not only learn it though teaching, but that we would be shown where we are off track, how to then get on track, and then to stay that way. God’s Word is given to direct our steps so that we might be trained in righteousness resulting in being equipped for His service.

It is from God’s Word that we learn that which is good and acceptable and perfect. In the last post I quoted Romans 12:1 in the context of works being our response to what God has done for us. Continuing in verse 2 we read, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NASB95) There was a way we used to do things and there is a way that the world does things. That way is founded in our own imaginings based upon our own understanding of things. Here we read that we are to stop thinking that way, and we are to have our minds transformed by the Spirit and the Word such that we think and act differently. In this we evidence God’s will in our lives so that we do that which He has declared good and acceptable and perfect. In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read that this is accomplished not by leaning on our own understanding, but by trusting in Him and looking to Him in all things. It is in doing this that we know He will set our path straight. This includes the little things and the big things. It includes those things which are seemingly easy for us to do and those which prove more challenging. It includes those things which line up with our desires and those in which we have to stop and purpose to realign our desires with those of God. It also includes those times when we have to wait for Him to show the way and those situations which we so desperately want to avoid.

There are so many opportunities before us every day, and God has given us the great privilege of being His ambassadors of grace and truth in a world where evil and uncertainty are so prevalent. What He calls us to do is to trust Him in those things He has set before us as we seek His will and follow His lead in doing that which brings glory to His name.

The Light and the Lighter (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NASB95)

The first part of the verse combines with the later part of verse 8 to say that salvation is totally something given to us by God. There is nothing we could have done to earn it, nor is there anything we can do to justify it such that we might say, “God sure made a good choice in me.” Salvation is something that He gives at His own perfect, good, loving, and right discretion. It is something He determined for each person before they were ever born or before even the foundation of the earth. I know these things have been covered in previous posts, but they are critical truths that God felt worth repeating as the Spirit moved Paul to pen. We are saved by grace and not by works. This is the whole thing, and as a result there is absolutely nothing in our salvation for which we can stick our thumbs up under our armpits and say, “Look at me!”

The “look at me” mentality was that of the Pharisees and religious leaders who Jesus contended with and who He told that their efforts were futile. Works are the result and not the condition. We serve response to what He has done. We are saved as a gift from Him, and because of that we live for Him. In Romans 12:1 we read an appropriate response, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [reasonable or logical] service of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NASB95) It is a response and not a pre-requisite. We are saved by grace—God doing something for us that we did not deserve and which we could not do for ourselves. He did it because He loves us and chose to do so.

He did it by grace as His gift. Tony Evans in his book, Theology You Can Count On” wrote, “Theologians have developed a classic definition of this great concept called grace. They define it as God’s unmerited, or undeserved, favor toward sinners. I [Tony] define grace as the inexhaustible supply of God’s goodness whereby He does for us what we could never do for ourselves. Grace is the “gift of God.” (pp. 770-771) Tony went on to add that “Paul used the word grace itself twelve times in this letter….”

But we also read that salvation is received through faith. In this there is a great mystery known to God and wrestled with by man. It is one in which we can best understand by study, but ultimately accept by faith. Scripture that says before the foundation of the world God chose us, and knowing who He chose He also is faithful to bring us to salvation without fail. This teaching of Scripture (election) says that our being saved is God’s choice and that His choice is perfect and absolute. All who are saved are saved because they are the elect of God. The complexity comes in looking to see that Scripture also says that people are saved by faith; that they have to believe and call upon the Lord to be saved. This leads to the question of what role man or “faith” plays in his own salvation.

Going back to Tony Evan’s book, we read, “Now this is where some of the mystery of God’s work in election manifests itself. God’s offer of salvation is valid to all, and yet those who respond do so because they are the elect of God before the foundation of the world was laid. And those who do not come to Christ are blameworthy because the Bible never says that people are lost because they are nonelect. The lost are lost because they refuse to believe. These two truths may seem mutually exclusive, but the Bible teaches both and holds both in perfect balance. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel to the people of Pisidian Antioch on the first missionary journey. When they had finished their message, the Bible clearly says, “As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)” (Evans, p. 775) [This subject was also covered also in the post, “Chosen in Christ,” Ephesians 1:4.]

While I may not be able to grasp exactly how God works these two, what I do know is that that God’s word teaches that He elects and we believe. His Spirit works to bring these two truths together in perfect harmony with His established will. The best way I can explain this is to say that the “that” in verse eight points to the effective grace that gives salvation and the faith that believes for salvation as both gifts from God. He does not force our belief, but in His perfect way He works such that we do believe and we wholeheartedly agree in the doing.

The bottom line is that we didn’t do it. We didn’t deserve it. God chose us. He shows Himself to us. And in His perfect way He works in us to respond. There is absolutely nothing about our salvation in which we can boast. Our salvation is a love gift from our Him, and one which we are called to share with others such that they might also hear, believe, and respond to the work of God in them.

By way of experience giving understanding to what I have studied in Scripture, I can look back to the day that the need to trust Christ made sense to me. It sure seemed like a lightbulb went on. Included in the process was not only a message I had heard that day visiting a church, but also some verses that had been buried deep inside from years past in going to a midweek church club program. This light was not one that I could turn on, but one that was turned on when I heard a message that made sense, these verses came to mind, and I knew that God was who I wanted to follow for the rest of my life. Did I make a choice? Yes. But was it really my idea? No. There was a groundwork laid by the Spirit that brought me to that point, and I believe without any doubt as I have searched God’s word that it was also the Spirit who gifted me to believe as that light was turned on.

“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6, NASB95) 

Rich in His Kindness (Ephesians 2:6-7)

“and 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 surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6–7, NASB95)

In working through these verses I took a break to listen to a CD that one of my sons brought home from Creationfest Northwest this year. It is an album by Peter Furler (who was co-founder and former lead vocalist of Newsboys). The first song on the album is titled “I’m Alive.” As I listened to it my mind was brought right back to these verses.

Out there alone and left to die

Cut off from You, my sole supply

You shed Your tears for me and then

You took my hand and raised me high

I'm alive, I'm on fire

And my spirit burns with desire

You set me alight, bright eyed

And with no way to hold it inside

I wanted to thank You

Thank You, thank You

Paul wrote in verses 6 and 7 of chapter 2 of Ephesians that God being rich in mercy … raised us up with His Son and seated us with Him in heavenly places. This is so much more than a human rescue. It is a rescue from God Almighty who not only pulled us from our bondage in sin, but who gave us a relationship back with Him and a rich inheritance with His Son who gave Himself for us. Looking to tenses used in these verses we see that some of it is a done deal—being past-tense and speaks to the fruit of what was already done. If we are saved we have been “raised” and “made.” These are accomplished already. As one commentator said, this “indicates that these are immediate and direct results of salvation. Not only is the believer dead to sin and alive to righteousness through Christ’s resurrection, but he also enjoys his Lord’s exaltation and shares in His pre-eminent glory.” (John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible)

There was nothing we could do to earn this. It is a 100% pure and absolute gift of God who loves us and who mercifully sent His Son to die for our sins and to give us new life through His resurrection. In Christ we have been made righteous and joint heirs with Him, called as His beloved children. As I listened to the song I was moved by the joy in Peter’s voice as he sang about how he had been made alive. It was as if a fire were raging in him that he could not contain and could only result in giving thanks to God; overwhelming and repeated thanks. This song was a song of appreciation to God for what He had done and a great thank you for giving something we did not deserve and doing so far and above anything we could ever imagine.

This kind of joy-filled appreciation is really the object of verse 7, where Paul said that in the ages to come God might demonstrate the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Think of it…. Not only did Paul know this assurance, and not only could he write of this assurance to the Ephesian believers, but so do we nearly 2,000 years later know that same assurance with the thousands upon thousands who came in-between and only He knows how many after. And for every single person who was called by God to be saved by His Son this being “raised” and “made” is totally true. We are still looking forward to just seeing in eternity what this all means, but there are so, so many who have gone before us who have realized God’s promises kept in His presence.

Even in my forty one years of being a Christian I can hardly count or remember how richly I have been blessed and His kindnesses to me. There is probably countless things that passed without me even noticing or even recognizing as being from Him. I know there have been days when I have even struggled to sing, and have been heavy hearted. But there are also and even far more times where I can clearly look and see and give thanks. And to be honest, most of these are the times when I have seemed the weakest or things may have seemed the most difficult or hard to bear. It is easy to go through the day when the days are smooth, but having gone through the difficult ones in the past I can surely and repeatedly join with Peter in saying, “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.” Oh, to have eternity to know His kindness and sing His praises.

And, Formerly Dead (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:4–5, NASB95)

The grace of God is amazing. We deserved nothing from God other than judgment and eternal separation, but because of His great love for us He chose to give us the total opposite. He gave us forgiveness and life. We read “even when we were dead in our transgressions” that He made us alive together in Christ.

Something that is dead has no power. It is lifeless and unable to do anything about it. Its end is to rot away in the continued state of death. This is simply how it is. Anyone who lives in a rural area and drives by the same dead skunk or possum knows this to be true. Anyone who has been to a cemetery knows that once planted the body is helpless to do anything but remain where it was placed until such time that decay might even reduce it again to dust just as God said in Genesis 3:19 where we read, “…till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”” (Genesis 3:19, NASB95)

We were all appointed to die and after that we read comes judgment as we read in Hebrews 9:27. And reading the Bible we know that this judgment not only includes eternal separation from God but being cast into the eternal presence of the evil one who would have been our ruler in this life. Satan may try to paint all kinds of enjoyable pictures for man here and now. He may want to twist the motives or plan of God and lead us to believe something less. He may even encourage us to deny God’s very existence. But the eternal result of these lies is real and it is of horrible torment. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15, NASB95)

Death is what we all deserve. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love … has made us alive”!!!! This is what mercy combined with love do, they rescue. They rescue not merely by acknowledging the distress of another and providing them comfort in their misery, but by lifting them from that misery and placing them into a new situation. This is the difference between the liberal theology of today which overlooks sin and our God who rescues us from sin and sets a new course for our lives.

God is totally righteous and He cannot in His righteousness justify unrighteousness in His presence, but He can and does take that which is unrighteousness and cleanse it with the righteousness of His own Son and then fully welcome as adopted children. When God rescues someone from their state of spiritual death He doesn’t merely life them up, dust them off, and say, “Go and sin no more.” Sure Jesus said this, but in Scripture we read that the ability to go forward victorious over sin is not found in having been given a fresh start but in having been given new life—having been made spiritually alive. Man left to himself would get himself back into the same mess, as he has proven time after time. But God makes us alive in His Son. He gives us new life.

What died in the garden with Adam is made alive in Christ. “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:17–19, NASB95)

God’s love goes far beyond any human measure of compassion. It goes to the point of sacrificing His own Son to graciously give us something we did not deserve nor could we ever achieve. He gave us this great gift because HE LOVES US! If you have not already responded to this great gift from God, won’t you talk to Him and do so today?? Please. 

Formerly Indulgent (Ephesians 2:3)

“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:3, NASB95)

In the social media I regularly see posts about groups of people who claim to walk by one standard yet embrace lifestyles that are not consistent with the standard. Specifically, I am thinking today of a group of “Christian ministers” standing together holding hands in unity as they held up signs in front of an abortion clinic proclaiming, “Pro-faith, Pro-family, Pro-choice.” These pictures brought a strong response from some, with one popular blogger writing, “Pray for their souls. They are marching right into Hell and singing songs along the way. Pray they turn back before it's too late.” Under the auspices of denouncing the shame “thrown” upon women seeking abortions, these people came together to bless the abortion facility and the destructive and murderous work that it does.

I can understand standing against shaming people and preferring to act graciously toward them, but bending truth in order justify their repulsion of the shame is not the answer. The reality is that these ministers have already bought into a liberal theology, one that allows them to selectively pick and choose from God’s word what they will accept and how they will apply it. They substitute the happiness of man for the will of God, decrying anyone who would deny a person seeking what is right in their own eyes.

Today we have a growing number of churches who hold to statements such as, “[xxx xxx] Church is a caring, inquiring, inclusive community worshiping God, pursuing the way of Christ, serving neighbors near and far with hearts, hands, and minds.” And, “… encourages thoughtful inquiry; takes the Bible seriously, but not literally.” What is the difference between “pursuing the way of Christ” and submitting to the headship of Christ? What is the difference between “seriously” and literally? Simply put, the Bible to them has become a voice among voices, but not THE voice in the decisions they make as they seek to embrace and include those around them. This might seem like a wonderful ideal, but in adopting it they have let their idealism cloud truth. They have set aside the word of God as the true and inerrant word of God and have adopted is as mere counsel to help inform their ideas.

Paul, in writing to the Ephesian believers, drew a contrast between the way they once lived and the new life that had been set apart to live. While they surely struggled at times in walking according to the image of Christ they were reminded that it was Christ who changed them and set them apart to live differently. This meant setting aside some things that they once did or believed for that which God has declared to be right and good. It meant even setting aside some “fleshly” desires or things that seemed good at the moment for the right way that God has set apart for them in His word. When they were subject to the rule of the evil one no one should have been surprised that they walked in step with the evil one. But afterward as children of God, saved by Christ, and indwelt by the Spirit they were called and enabled to walk differently. They were no longer to indulge or even entertain indulging those other things.

In Christ there is a perfect balance between truth and grace which does not require watering down one in order to accommodate the other. Sure, society might stand up in angry resistance to Christians because they do not embrace their desires, views and lifestyles, but why should we be surprised. We know from God’s word that those who do not know Christ are children of the devil, and the devil is opposed to God. We also know that those who do not know Christ do not have the Spirit of God in them and are led by the prince of the power of the air. We know that those who do not know Christ do not feel compelled to abide by the Word of God nor adhere to what God declares as right and good. There should be a stark contrast between them, and we should not be surprised when we see it become an issue in our culture and our personal encounters.

But for believers to alter the word and live in a compromised way is not the answer. I’m sure among them there are those who have been deceived by wolves and misled by their view of compassion in order to represent God as a loving and gracious God who accepts all people in all circumstances, and permits them to openly embrace those same things. But in doing this they have lost sight of the truth that God also has called us to live differently, and not according to the way we once walked. Paul is reminding his readers that they too once walked according to the flesh or the ways of the world, the evil one, and their own desires as people who were separated from God. But this was not the “now” case, and as such they were evidencing this change by walking accordingly.

I am greatly troubled by these religious leaders using their position to lead people into deception and a distorted gospel. But more personally, I am troubled when I continue to do those things that are contrary to how God would have me to walk as well. It’s not just them. We’ve all been called to walk differently in Christ because we have a new identity. We have been purchased by His blood, set free from the law of sin, and have been enabled to walk victoriously before Him. We have been shown grace by God and He has given us His word to hide in our hearts and to direct our steps. He has shown us even by the example of His Son in Scripture how to walk rightly among those who would oppose this while challenging people to look to God and trust that He indeed does love them and has sent His Son to draw them back to Him. And we have been given the Spirit to indwell and enliven us, to make His word living and active, and to guide us in our walk with Him. We can walk in truth with grace without compromising either one. Whether people accept us for it or not really is not up to us but to God who draws people to Himself, who opens their eyes, and gives them His great gift of salvation. We are not to let our desires be the determinant of our belief, but to allow God to shape our desires according to His truth as we seek after Him and walk as He has called us to walk in the power of His Spirit.

Paul, in encouraging Timothy near the end of his own life, wrote, “Now you [Timothy] followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:10–17, NASB95) 

Formerly Under Another (Ephesians 2:1-2)

"(1) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, (2) in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1–2, NASB95)

We live in a country where our national motto is “In God We Trust” and in which some key words were placed in our pledge, “One nation under God.” But how true is that statement? Who is it true for? And, why or why not? I think there is little doubt that many of the founding fathers of our framework believed in God and desired that others would follow after Him. But even this is not universally true. I think that our country has been heavily influenced by a biblical moral and legal system, but even that has not been universal. And there is no doubt over time that each of these has been attacked, eroded, and even changed, proving just how questionable it is for an entire country to hold these ideals. If truly we trusted in God as a country of people would we desire or even tolerate much of what has not only been tolerated, but even embraced by so many such as the murdering on pre-born children. If we truly were one nation under God would we tolerate the movement to remove all vestiges of such a belief from our public places and our government institutions?

This idea of having a bunch of free people who could and would freely seek after and worship God has not proven itself viable when it has been left in the hands of man, or at least men who do not personally know, seek after, and worship God. Rather it has proven, even from the most basic look, that when a people turn their back on God that the moral fabric of the country declines and those who remain to seek after God become increasingly more persecuted.

The reason for this is pretty simple. There is no vacuum in leadership. There is no vacuum in authority. When one authority is displaced in the hearts of a people and a nation, another authority quickly moves in. And we know from God’s Word and passages like this today that this authority is none other than the “prince of the power of the air”—the devil, Satan.

In the last post we looked at man’s original sin and his entry into spiritual death. It this post we are drawn to look at the one who put the fruit before the woman and his continuing to put the fruit before people today—the one who has set the course of the world since Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened to evil and were removed from the garden and made subject to his rule by their own disobedience. Just one step away from the garden we read of Adam and Eve’s first two children that one had a heart for God and the other didn’t. Speaking to Cain, the one who didn’t, God said, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:6–7, NASB95) We know from the next verses that Cain did not listen to God, but rather went into the field and murdered his only (at that time) brother, Abel.

This has been the condition of man and it continues to be the condition of man apart from God. Reading here that “sin is crouching at the door,” we read elsewhere in 1 Peter, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8–9, NASB95) We read the same instruction—to resist, but in this later passage we find the source of the enablement to resist in “being firm in your faith.” The ones to whom Peter was writing had been changed. They had been removed from the rule of Satan by being purchased back by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans, “For the death that He [Jesus] died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:10–14, NASB95)

This speaks to those who have been bought back by Christ. Looking to 1 Corinthians where we also read that we have not only been set free from the bondage and sin, but that we have been bound together in Christ. “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:17–20, NASB95)

Being freed from bondage does not mean being freed from conflict, attack, and even willful engagement. The reality is that we have a long way to grow and we do continue to struggle with desires that are not those of God. We live in a world where sin is rampant and its effects are vast. We are forced to admit that there remains a spiritual battle in which we are engaged here and now. But Scripture declares that we are not left defenseless in this battle. Ephesians 6 is one of the most focused on passages when it comes to this issue. In verse 12 of that chapter Paul reminds us of this before going on to speak of how we are made to be victorious, “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.” (Ephesians 6:12, NASB95)

There is a real war going on, and the enemy is relentless. Those who do not belong to Christ belong to him and he is very influential. In addition to that, they on their own do not seek after God nor do they listen to His instruction. It should be no surprise that when a significant voice in any culture does not listen to the voice of God that what comes from them will be in line with the deceitful voice of the enemy. What is wrong before God seems right to those who listen to this enemy, and what seems right in their own eyes will also be that for which they fight to obtain and to protect.

It is not that these people do not know what is right and good, but that they willingly choose to substitute what God has placed in their awareness of God with what they desire for themselves. In Romans we read, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:18–25, NASB95) These are the ones who listen to the voice and who are given over the “king … of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11).

You see, while the battle we are engaged here may focus on the protection of innocent life, the preservation of marriage, and the rights of those who believe it is truly about so much more. It is about those who are lost and pointing them to the one in whom they can be found. It is about being God’s light in a world of those who are blind, knowing that He is the one who can make them see and set them free. Paul reminds his readers and us that this is who we once were, and in so doing points to our great need to be on the alert while we also speak of their great need to others. Jesus came to us in both truth and grace, and according to His grace we live and proclaim truth.