This Week’s Passage: ¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature  and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

I’m a grace guy. I love to think on God’s amazing grace. I don’t often think on God’s amazing wrath. We don’t sing “Amazing wrath how sour the sound that condemned a wretch like me.” And yet this passage reminds us that we are by our very nature, down to the core of our being, objects of God’s wrath. Before God speaks of God’s amazing grace He speaks of God’s amazing wrath. This week as I pondered, I found a few noteworthy quotes that I thought I would share and let them speak  mostly for themselves.

A.W. Pink said:

“The wrath of God is a perfection of the Divine character upon which we need to frequently meditate.

First, that our hearts may be duly impressed by God’s detestation of sin. We are ever prone to regard sin lightly, to gloss over its hideousness, to make excuses for it. But the more we study and ponder God’s abhorrence of sin and His frightful vengeance upon it, the more likely are we to realize its heinousness.

Second, to beget a true fear in our souls for God: “Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28,29). We cannot serve Him “acceptably” unless there is due “reverence” for His awful Majesty and “godly fear” of His righteous anger, and these are best promoted by frequently calling to mind that “our God is a consuming fire.”

Third, to draw out our souls in fervent praise for having delivered us from “the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10).”

***

Propitiation is a really cool theological word that speaks of the satisfaction of God’s holy wrath.

Here is what J.I. Packer said in his book Knowing God:

“The wrath of God against us, both present and to come, has been quenched. How was this effected? Through the death of Christ. ‘While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son’ ([Romans] 5:10). The ‘blood’—that is, the sacrificial death—of Jesus Christ abolished God’s anger against us, and ensured that His treatment of us forever after would be propitious and favorable. Henceforth, instead of showing Himself to be against us, He would show Himself in our life and experience to be for us. What, then, does the phrase ‘a propitiation . . . by His blood’ express? It expresses, in the context of Paul’s argument, precisely this thought: that by His sacrificial death for our sins Christ pacified the wrath of God.”

In order to totally appreciate the magnificent grace of God (which we’ll ponder this coming week) we need to grasp how awful is His wrath. So think with me on these things.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 2:6-10

This Week’s Passage: That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

“That power…”

This is what I’ve been thinking about this week… “That power”. Paul says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead and then exalted Him to the heavenly realms is available to believers and to the Church. So where is “that power?” To be quite honest I don’t see it manifested in the lives of many believers or in the work of many churches. I don’t see it manifest in my own life. So here are the questions I’ve been thinking through:

1) What would this power look like in the life of a believer – in other words, how would it present itself?

As I peruse the book of Acts and think back on the 4 gospels here are the things that are readily apparent:

Boldness in speaking, preaching, and praying – All of these are evident in Acts 4. I especially love Acts 4:13. This verse kind of sums up for me what power in the life of a believer looks like to unbelievers: “When they say the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Where is the astonishment that seemed to follow these guys around after Pentecost?

Transformed Lives – You don’t have to look far in both the gospels and the Book of Acts to find people who’s lives were radically changed. As people came in contact with Spirit empowered believers their lives were never the same. Can that be said about me? Can that be said about us?

Miracles – Do miracles still happen? I believe they do! But we see so few things that can only be explained by a miraculous work of God that we have gotten to the point that we don’t expect God to do the miraculous. Shame on us as the people of God. You certainly see the miraculous happening in the gospels and Acts.

2) Why are so few believers filled and fueled by the power of God?

• There is little dependence upon God – Here in American we have been trained from the time that we were pups to depend upon our ourselves – our money, our talents, our personality, our family, our intellect. We have never really had to depend solely upon God and therefore have never learned how to depend upon God. God’s power is thwarted by our independence.

• Unconfessed sin and unrepentant hearts short circuit the power supply and bewilder the Power Supplier – Unfortunately we tend to have a high tolerance for sin. I include myself in this statement. We have view of God that says God is a forgiving God therefore I can do whatever I want and He will still love me and forgive. We take lightly the parts of the Bible that talk about God’s hatred for sin because of His absolute holiness and we gloss over the idea that “we were by nature objects of wrath.” Because of this we deal with sin like we deal with clutter. We let it build up until we can’t stand it anymore then try to clean it all all up – then let it start building up again. Did you catch that phrase, “until we can’t stand it?” We need to understand that sin is something that God cannot stand – therefore we need to deal with it immediately and turn in horror away from it.

• A hunger for soul empowering food has been replaced by a ravenous hunger for worldly things – There seems to be little hunger for the Word of God among believers. Our appetites have been satisfied by other things – much like junk food has filled our bellies but added little to no nutritional value. We need to develop a craving for the pure spiritual milk of the Word. (1Peter 2:2)

3) How can I be a Spirit empowered believer?

The answer to this flows pretty naturally out of the last question if we buy into the reasons we are so powerless. To sum it up in for me my action steps would go something like this: 1) Become a man who knows how to pray – then to pray as often as I breathe, 2) Worship God in the splendor of his holiness so that I see sin the way that He sees sin, 3) Wean myself away from the things that give me more satisfaction than God and His Word.

It’s not rocket science. It just will take willful intent. Do I want to live a power fueled life or am I content to be content with the way that I am?  Do I want “that power” flowing through my spiritual veins… or not? Hmmmm.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 2:1-5

This Week’s Passage: ¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Paul prays for people different than I pray for people. But I’m trying to change that. I love the things that he specifically prays here for his Ephesian friends: that they might know the Lord better, that they might know the hope that they have, that they might know how rich they are in Christ, that they might know His great power in their lives.

But WHAT he prays is not what struck me this week. What struck me is the way that he identified WHO he was praying to. He could easily have said “I keep asking that God would give…” Instead he uses two descriptive phrases to identify God.

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ – He is writing to people in a city that is inundated with gods of all kinds. I think he wants to make it clear that the God that he serves and prays to is not like the gods that they are familiar with. I wonder if we are as clear in our praying, if we know who the God is that we call upon. There are just as many gods and faux-gods in our day as there was in Ephesus. It’s just that we don’t call them gods. Yet we worship them none the less. We do not pray to a god who is at our beck and call nor a god who’s job it is to give us whatever we want. We do not pray to a god who exists to serve us nor a god who overlooks sin. We do not pray to a god who just wants us to be happy nor to a god who wants us to be wealthy. We do not pray to a god who is capricious in his ways nor to a god who is limited in what he can and cannot do. We pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who triumphed over sin. The One who came to seek and to save that which was loss. The One who even the winds and the waves obey. The One who humbled himself on a cross but then triumphed over death. The One who is declared to be the Alpha and Omega, the Way the Truth the Life, the image of the invisible God. The One who is Savior, Messiah, Lamb of God. The Good Shepherd. The Bread of Life. The Light of the World.  The One who is Redeemer, Prince of Peace, Lion of the tribe of Judah. The One who is the King of Kings and the Great I AM. We pray to the God of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the God who is also…

The glorious Father – Glorious!! This is an idea that has captured Paul’s mind as he writes and thinks about all that God has done for him. In verse 6 he speaks of God’s glorious grace. In verse 12 he speaks of “the praise of God’s glory“. In verse 14 he repeats this again. Here in verse 17 he he refers to God as glorious and then in verse 18 he talks about God’s glorious inheritance. It’s as if Paul has seen God in a way that I have yet to see Him. Perhaps it was that encounter that he had on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Perhaps it was the vision he had of God that he talks about in 2 Corinthians 12. I don’t know how he came to recognize the awesomeness of God’s glorious nature. All I know is that he does. And I don’t. But I want to. And I would prefer that I “get it” before I see Him in all His glory upon my homegoing. Because I see what a difference it made in Paul’s life and ministry to be captivated by the One that he refers to as “the glorious Father.” It made a difference in the that he prayed. It made a difference in the way that he preached and taught. It made a difference in the way that he endured trials and persecution. It made a difference in the way that he dealt with difficult people. It made a difference in the way that he died.

Check out these lyrics from Third Day’s song Show Me Your Glory. Click here if you want to see their You Tube performance.

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor
In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky
And I know I’ll never be the same

Show me Your glory
Send down Your presence
I want to see Your face
Show me Your glory
Majesty shines about You
I can’t go on without You, Lord

When I climb down the mountain
And get back to my life
I won’t settle for ordinary things
I’m gonna follow You forever
And for all of my days
I won’t rest ’til I see You again

Show me Your glory
Show me Your glory
I can’t live without You

As the song suggests, the reality seems to be this: Just a glimpse of God’s glory can change us forever – “never be the same… can’t go on without You…won’t settle for ordinary things… won’t rest til I see You again”. This was def true for Paul. May it be so for me … and you!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 1:19b-23

This Week’s Passage: ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

In verses 4-5 we see one side of the divine free will/not free will paradox. In verse 13 we see the other: “heard…believed.” Scripture affirms BOTH that God chose us before the creation of the world AND we willingly choose to believe when confronted with the gospel. Some people have difficulty believing that both can be true. I do not. I may not understand  it completely but that is what “mystery” is all about (verse 9). I think I would have difficulty believing in a God that I could completely figure out. The fact that there are mysteries fuels my faith to believe more.

The phrase “promised Holy Spirit” made me think – where in Scripture was he promised. So I started looking for references. Here are a few:

Ezekiel 36:26-27 – ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Joel 2: 28-29 – ²⁸ “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. ²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,  I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (This verse is echoed by the apostles in Acts 2)

Isaiah 44:3 – ³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land,  and streams on the dry ground;  I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Acts 1:8 – ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Much can be said about the work of the Holy Spirit. Suffice to say here that he is our GUARANTEE from God that we are saved and that we will receive an eternal inheritance from Him. So the question that this passage begs to be asked is this: Is there evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in my (your) life? As Romans 8:9 says, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 1: 15-19a

This Week’s Passage: ⁹ And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

 ¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Sometimes as I ponder my mind thinks like a preacher who is who is putting together a sermon outline. With that in mind you will understand why the four words in this passage that stood out to me all begin with the letter “P”.

Pleasure – It is somewhat astounding and overwhelming to realize that the magnificent and glorious God of the universe takes great pleasure in me. I am the delight of His heart. And just as my own kids bring joy to my life so I brings joy to the Father. It pleased Him greatly to lavish His grace upon me and rescue me from the dominion of darkness and depravity of sin.

Purpose – God acts with intentionality. I am a part of His grand purpose. There is a reason why He has given me new life. He has plans for me. He wants to use me to be a part of fulfilling His purposes. Rick Warren says this in his book “The Purpose Driven Life”:

“If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point?”

A good reminder. Often I confuse busyness with productivity. We do the same in the church. I need to remember to consistently ask “why am I doing what I am doing?” if I want to live with focused intentionality.

Predestined –  “…according to the plan…” Here’s an analogy that comes to mind to help me understand this. When it comes to draft time the General Manager of a football team does not draft just anybody that is available. He drafts someone that will fill in the needs that the team has. If they are weak on the defensive line he might draft a tackle. If they need someone fast that can catch a football he would draft a wide receiver. Predestination, or the fact that God chose me specifically, is kind of like this. He has a plan and he wants me to be a part of  specifically filling a role in bringing about that plan. Predestination, rather than being a confusing doctrine, ought to be a biblical truth that fuels believers with a great sense of purpose and joy as they anticipate how God will use them to bring about His purposes.

Praise – The reason that God has done what He has done in my life is that I might be a testimony of resounding praise to His greatness. It would be foolish to think that anything I do could possibly add to the glorious nature of God. God is fully glorious. That is who He is by nature. But my life can and should point others to Him so that they too recognize just how gloriously resplendent He indeed is. This is what it means to live to the praise of His glory.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 1:13-14