Ephesians 3 - God's Secret Plan Revealed

What was God's secret plan?  Verse six says:

And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews

 in all the riches inherited by God's children.  Both groups have believed the Good News, 

and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus.

That particular verse brings so much gladness to my heart.  For so long the Jews believed they were the only chosen children of god.  But Jesus came and changed all that with his life and death.  

Paul's mission was to share this good news with the Gentiles even though he was in prison in Rome.  In fact, Paul calls it a wonderful privilege to share the Good News.  He looks at a negative and turns it in to a positive.  Oh, that I would be the same way.  In stead, I complain about my circumstances.

And Paul continues to be humble in what he does.  He shares that he is the least deserving to do this.  Paul probably had no idea how important a figure he would really become 2000 years later.  I think he is probably quite surprised every time he meets a new person in Heaven who tells him how much he changed their life.

Paul goes on to talk about how much God loves us.  He prays that Christ will be more and more at home in our hearts.  He wants us to fully know how much God loves us.  He goes on to say how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is for us.  

Because we have this relationship with Christ, and His mighty power is at work in us, we are able to accomplish so much more than we every though possible.  We can draw all glory to Him by doing the works He has called us to do.  

This is a really short chapter.  The biggest thing I got out of it, is that I am a member of God's family.  I have the same rights and privileged of the Jews.  He is just as much my Daddy as he is the Jews by birth. 

Do to circumstances beyond my control, I am way behind on my blog.  I do plan on getting caught up over the next few days.  

Be blessed,

Sue 

Ephesians 2 - Saved by grace!

Did you know I was once dead?  Yep, I was one of the walking dead.  I didn't know it at the time, but I was!  I was serving my flesh, rather than the one true and living God.  And because of that, I was dead.  But then Christ came into this world and gave His life up for me so I could live!  And here is the kicker...

I didn't have to do one thing for Him to die for me.  Nope!  Nothing!  Nada!!  (Which is really a good thing, because I am pretty sure that there is NOTHING I could do that would ever be enough by human standards!)

You see, I have been saved by God's grace.  If I had to do something to earn His salvation, then I would have something I could boast about.  (Hey, look at me!  I'm so good, I'm so amazing...better than you! Neener, neener neener!)  Boy, it's a good thing I've been saved by grace! 

The truth is, we are all the same.  None of us are better than the rest of us, and not a one of us deserves His Mercy.  He died for each one of us because He loves us that much!  It doesn't matter if you are a Jew (circumcised) or a Gentile (uncircumcised), because we are all of one body...the Body of Christ.  We have become one family because of His death on the cross.  

Ephesians 2:10 says

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,

so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Did you catch that?  We are God's masterpiece!   You know what else we are?  We are the apple of His eye! 
Zechariah 2:8  says,

⁸ For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against

 the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— (NIV)

So we are His masterpiece, the apple of His eye, and we are saved by grace!  We are His church and He is the cornerstone. 

I looked up the definition of cornerstone and pulled up the following:

Literally, the stone placed at the corner of a building during construction. Figuratively, the item or person which began something significant. 

I'm thinking, He definitely began something significant!  I also looked up the purpose of the cornerstone.  I got this off Wikipedia:

The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

Interesting...don't you agree?  The cornerstone determines the position of the entire structure. 

Anyway, back to Ephesians...Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone.  It is because of Him that we are joined together into one family where God's Spirit can dwell.

Tomorrow I will look at Ephesians 3.  I am truly enjoying everything that I am learning in this.  If you have the chance, go visit some of my online sisters who are also doing this study.  You can visit them here:

Jenilee
Christina
Stephanie
Daisy

Be blessed,

Sue

 

Ephesians 1

What a difference two letters make!  We leave those foolish, crazy Galatians and head on over to a church that Paul loved so much, he spent three years living there.  However, this letter was written while in prison in Rome.  It was not a letter of correction, but rather a letter to strengthen and encourage them.  It is not entirely sure if this was just for the Ephesian church, or if it was meant to be circulated.  There has been some debate on this issue.  None-the-less, it is a letter that is just as relevant today, as it was in Paul's time.

Paul starts Ephesians the same way he did Galatians, stating that he was chosen by God.  He then tells the Ephesians that they are faithful followers of Jesus.  What an honor to be recognized as a faithful follower of Christ, rather than a fool!

Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  Most of it has yellow highlighting through out it.  One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 1:4-6

How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms

because we belong to Christ.

Long ago, even before He made the world, 

God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes

His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family

by bringing Himself through Jesus Christ,

and this gave Him great pleasure.

There's that word "adoption" again!  He adopted us into His own family!  

So God's secret plan has now been revealed.  This was His plan from the beginning.  

Ephesians 1 is pretty much highlighted with a yellow highlighter throughout the whole chapter!

Paul goes on to tell us that because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we are free, and not just simply free, but abundantly free!  All our sins have been forgiven and by God's grace we have been set free.

God's great mysteries have been revealed to us.  He gives us understanding and wisdom because it is His great pleasure! 

This reminds me of when I buy a gift for someone.  I love to be able to watch that person open that gift and see the look of joy and excitement on their face.  I take great pleasure in seeing how happy it made them. 

Matthew 7 verses 9 - 12 explain it pretty accurately:

 ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish,

will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give

good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts

to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them

do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

We then go on to verses 17-21.  These verses are very dear to my heart.  I pray them over each one of my children, inserting their names into it when I pray.

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you

(each child's name inserted here and throughout), the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you  may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray 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 his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 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.

This prayer is AWESOME!!!  And we can say this prayer for family members, friends, our church, etc.  I pray this prayer for myself as well.  I want the eyes of my heart to be enlightened so that I may know the hope to which He has called me.

May you also have your eyes of your heart enlightened to that which God has called you to.

Be blessed,

Sue

Galatians 6 - Reaping and Sowing

Due to a horrid migraine yesterday, I will be finishing up Galatians 6 and then starting on Ephesians 1 tonight.  So as to not be confusing, I will separate them into two different posts.

In Galatians 6, Paul tells us that if we see another Christian sinning, we are to gently and humbly direct them back onto the right path. Paul gives a very important warning here.  He tells us to be careful not to fall into the same temptation ourselves.  For this reason, I believe we need to use a lot of wisdom when we try to bring a brother or sister back on the right track.  Sometimes it is a wise idea to have someone else with you to keep you fall falling into the same temptation.

Paul also warns us that we cannot think of ourselves as better than that person.  The moment we do that, we become a fool and are no better than anyone else.

In verse 4 Paul tells us that in all that we do, we should always do our very best.  We should also never compare our self to anyone else.   Usually, if you compare yourself to others, you will feel like you aren't as good as them.  So do the best you can do and you will find personal satisfaction.  (The key word here is, best.)

In verse 6, Paul talks about the teachers being paid to teach the Word of God.  This also includes our Pastors and leaders who dedicate themselves to the work of the church. Teaching on Sunday morning is not just one hour a week of the pastor's time.   They spend hours in prayer, reading the Word, studying, listing to God's voice, etc. This is why the tithe is so important. If you love your pastor, you should be willing to help him with his expenses.  Personally, I think it is an insult to sit under someones teaching and not consider them worthy of being paid.

By the way, when we are faithful in our tithe, or in helping a brother who is n trouble or just needs a hand, or we serve in the church, or the multiple things we can do to further the Kingdom...we will reap what we sow.  It might not happen right away, but it will happen in due time.  God's timing is not the same as man's time.

Be warned though, that you will also reap bad things if that is all you are sowing.  So be sure that you are not sowing seeds of gossip, deceit, immoral behavior, etc.  My Bible says this in it's notes: "Every action has results.  If you plant to please your own desires, you'll reap a crop of sorrow and evil.  If you plant to please God, you'll reap joy and everlasting life.  What kind of seeds are you sowing?"

So...what kind of seeds are you sowing?  Whenever we have the opportunity to do so, we need to lift up our brothers and sisters and plant seeds of blessings and love.

The other day, I talked about Paul's illness.  I thought he might be referring to his vision. He finishes Galatians but mentioning how big he writes in his own hand.  This is one of the reasons I thought it might be his eyes.

Before he signs off, he again reminds them that the false teachers really only want them to be circumcised so they can brag that the Galatians were now their disciples.  They really didn't care about the Law.

 Paul makes it clear that he does not want to brag about anything except for the fact that Christ died on the cross for him and for all of them.  Christ doesn't care if we are circumcised or not.  What He cares about is who we are in Him and what kind of life we are now living.  When we become a Christian, we are changed from the inside out!

I am so thankful that Jesus Christ has cleansed me and washed my sins away.  I don't have to live a life of laws, but one of freedom in Him.

Be blessed,

Sue

Galatians 5 - Running the Race

I am not entirely sure doing a Bible study when one is tired is really a good idea.  But then again, at this point, I don't know when I'm not going to be tired!  So I am pushing ahead. 

In the beginning of Galatians chapter 5, Paul is still talking to the Galatians about circumcision.  (I too keep spelling it Galations!  Grrrrr!)  Anyway....Paul tells the Galatians that they are to stand firm in the freedom they have received from Christ and not to go back into bondage by being circumcised.  He warns that if they do this, they will be cut off from a relationship with Christ.  Circumcision will cause them to fall from God's grace and they will now have to live under the whole law of Moses.    Yikes!  This means that everything they were doing prior to their salvation, all those rituals that Jesus freed them from, they would have to go back to doing them!

He tells them that  the hope of righteousness if for those who wait for the Spirit of God, in faith, and that God does not care if we are circumcised or not. I believe that even though Paul is talking about physical circumcision, there is more to it than that.  I think he is also talking about the rituals that the Jewish leaders want them to follow.  But God does not look at rituals and rules.  What he cares about is how we are working our faith and if we are working it out through loving one another.  Because it is very obvious that there is no love coming from this person or persons who are now pushing their own agenda.

What happened?  The Galatians were doing so well.  Paul compares their walk to running a great race and he wonders who caused them to stumble. You can feel the hurt in his voice when you read this.  He knows for a fact that who ever it was, they weren't doing it on Christ's behalf!  Their goal was to turn the Galatians away from Christianity and back to the laws of Moses.  Then he gives them a warning that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough.  One false teacher, if allowed, can persuade a whole group of Christians to fall from grace.  It doesn't take a whole lot of persuasion!  (And this is just as true today as it was back then!  If we are not grounded in the Word, we can fall from grace just as easily!)

Paul has confidence that the Lord will deal harshly with this person.  He reminds them that if he were teaching that circumcision were necessary, than why was he still being persecuted?  These false teachers would be in agreement with Paul if that were indeed, what he was teaching.  But of course, he isn't.  He is teaching that they have been freed from the bondage of this type of teaching.  Then he makes a statement that just blows my mind and makes me want to stand up and shout, "Go Paul!," while cheering loudly for him.  Because his next statement is "I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves!" 

Yowza!

Again, he reminds them that they are free and that they are called to love one another and they are to love each other in the same manner that they would love themselves.

Paul then tells them to allow their spiritual nature to guide them and to not walk by the corrupt nature.  For if they allow their spiritual nature to guide them they will not be subject to the laws of Moses.  He then explains that the desires of the corrupt nature is obvious..."illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that."  (Sounds more like today!!!")  And people who live this way will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  Wow.  I have some kids who live this way and I have to say, this really causes me great concern! I don't want for any of my kids to perish!

Then Paul tells them what the spiritual nature produces; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control.  These characteristics are not under the law!  (Oh that I would have all of those characteristics!  Looking at each one, I couldn't tell you which one I desire over the others...each one of them are wonderful!)

Finally, Paul says those that live by their spiritual nature need to be conformed to that nature.  There is no other choice.  We cannot walk any other way.

I am really enjoying Galatians and learning so much.  Paul is one of my favorite Bible characters.  I can't wait to meet him when I get to Heaven.  One of the reasons he is one of my favorites is because he tends to use multiple examples to explain something.  It helps to understand things so much more.  


Till tomorrow!


Be blessed,

Sue

Galatians 4

In Galatians Chapter 4, Paul continues talking to the Galatians about who they are in Christ.  He compares them to being children, who when young, are treated no different then the slaves.  They are still under the rule (or law) of the teachers and guardians.  Even though they are heirs, they have no rights at all. 

I do want to state here, the Jews treated their slaves well.  They cared about them and they were a part of their family.  They weren't treated the way slaves were treated back in early America when slaves were treated like third class citizens.  So when Paul refers to the children being no better than a slave, he isn't degrading the children...just stating that they had no rights to whatever decisions were made in the household.  They had no voice on their own life.  They had to do what they were told.

Anyway, when they became of an age (which was up to the father as to what age it would be), they were then given all the rights of the heir. 

The Jewish people were like these children, and when God decided it the right time, He sent His Son to redeem them from slavery.  God adopted them (us), to be His children.  We now have the right to call Him Abba (Daddy) Father.  In the book "The Shack," He is called "Papa."  Even though there has been a lot of theological arguments about that book, (it was a book of fiction, not facts), I do love that the author of the book refers to God as "Papa."    My husband is Papa to our grandchildren and he adores them and they adore him.  Papa is a wonderful name.  I also love the fact that I can call Him Daddy.  Daddy is someone to be intimate with.  Someone whose lap I can climb in and be held by when  I am afraid or sad or just need to be comforted.

Having this relationship with their Daddy, Paul is astounded that they can now turn their backs on Him.  He reminds them that they were freed from religious laws that required them to remember specific days, months, seasons and years  rather than walk in the freedom they received from God.  All those days of observance were created by man's laws, not Gods.  He worries that everything he taught them has been wasted on them. 

Paul reminds them that while he was with them, he became like them.  He was sick when he came, but they loved him in spite of his illness.  The Galatians were so happy to receive the Good News, that they didn't let Paul's illness affect them.  They let God's love shine through them without any prejudice or negative feelings. 

I always wonder just what Paul's illness was.  He states that they were willing to tear their eyes out for him.  Did something happen to his eyes when he was on the road to Damascus?  In Acts 9:8 it says that when Paul got up from the ground, he opened his eyes, but couldn't see anything.  He was blinded for three days.  In verse 16 God says Paul will suffer much for Him.  (Of course in reading Acts we know that Paul suffered in many ways, not just with his vision.)  In verse 18, after Ananias prays for him, something like scales fall off his eyes, and he can see again.  But I wonder if, when he saw that bright light, did something happen to his eyes.  Is this what his illness was?  I guess we won't know till we get to Heaven and meet him.

Anyway, he wonders what happened to them.  They had such a positive attitude when he was with them.  Now that he is away, they are listening to those who would make them slaves again.  He tells them that these others who are trying to turn them away from Paul's message want them to be devoted only to them.  They are like the Pharisees in Matthew 6 who do everything for themselves to receive man's praises.  They (the Pharisees), prayed out on the street so others could see them. They made sure they tithed as the trumpet was blown so the Jews would see them as they dropped their tithe in the offering box.  Why would the new Christians want to go back to that type of life?

Paul then goes on to remind them of the Old Testament story of Hagar and Sarah.  Because Sarah couldn't wait for God's promise, she sent Abraham to Hagar and they had a son.  This son was born a slave and would always be a slave.  He was not the son that God had promised. 

Hagar's children would become Arabia.  Her son would try to rule over Sarah's son.  Even today, Arabs are trying to take Israel away.  Sarah's impatience with God's promise has continued to cause more problems than she would ever imagine. 

Am I like Sarah?  Am I impatient for God's promises to me to come to fruition?  When I step out from under that promise and try to make those things happen in the flesh, do I realize the ripple affect it will have on generations to come?  Oh Daddy, my prayer is that I would wait and lean on You.  Help me to trust that You will bring that promise to life in Your time. 

Verses 29 through 31 say it all.
²⁹Furthermore, at that time the son who was conceived in a natural way persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That’s exactly what’s happening now. ³⁰But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.” ³¹Brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman. (Italics are mine)

Because I am adopted, I am a part of the family of God!  I am so thankful that I am not a child of the slave but a child of the free woman. 

I've been doing a lot of online reading about families who adopt.  A lot of them have been going to other countries to adopt children who are so poor, sometimes all they own are the clothes on their back.  Sometimes they don't even own a pair of shoes!  But then a family will come and adopt them and bring them home to America.  Suddenly they go from nothing, to a home full of love.  They have more clothes and toys then they could ever have imagined.  They have more food to eat in one day than they used to have in a week!  They went from total hopelessness to a life full of hope.

These children really didn't know what they were missing.  Furthermore, they didn't seek out the families that found them...these families went looking for them.  Once they were brought into this family, they were loved unconditionally.  And they had all the same rights as the children who would have been born into this family.

This is how we are as God's adopted children.  We come to Him with nothing, and He gives us everything.  He loves us unconditionally.  There is nothing we can do to earn it.  Yet we tend to think we have to earn His love.  We are no different than these foolish, crazy Galatians!

I am so thankful that we have God's Word to learn from.  My prayer is that I would be more like Paul and less like those Galatians.  However, in order to be more like Paul, I need to stop listening to those who would turn me away from God.  I need to spend more time in His Word, more time in prayer, more time fellowshiping with those who are walking in grace and faith.  I need to know who I am as a King's kid!

Thank you Father, for loving me enough to forgive me for my foolish ways.  Thank you for sending your Son to take on all of my sins and allowing me to be adopted by You.  Thank you for using a man like Paul to love me enough to write letters of correction.  And thank you for giving some men the wisdom to preserve those letters so that 2000 years later we would be able to learn from them.  You are an amazing God.  Your ability orchestrate everything that happens is just awesome.  There are no words I could say that would truly be enough to convey how I feel.  I am at Your mercy.  I stand at the foot of the Cross and lift my arms in praise. 

Be blessed,

Sue

Galatians 3

In The Message Bible, Paul starts out by calling the Galatians "crazy" and asks them if they took leave of their senses.  I love that!  In the Amplified Bible they are called "poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galations!"  He is incredulous that they have completely forgotten that they were saved by their faith and not by working their heads off to please God. 

He asks them if they received the Holy Spirt by works, or by faith.  He reminds them of God's promise to Abraham and tells them that Abraham trusted God enough to believe in His promise.  It was based on faith in God alone.  The Galatians had received their salvation by faith but now they had completely forgotten what they received and were now trying to do everything under the law.  Paul tells them that anyone who tries to live as a Christian under the law would fail.  If living under the law would insure their salvation, then why did Christ die?  For what purpose did He go to the cross?

Christ redemed us from the law by dying on the Cross.  Paul reminds them of the scripture that says "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." When Christ went to the cross, He became the curse and with his death, took the curse off us.   And because of this, we are able to receive the same blessing that Abraham received. 

Paul does not discredit the law.  In fact, he explains to them that the law was very important.  It taught Abraham's decendents to obey God's commandments and stay close to God.  It kept them from going so far into sin that they forgot who God was.  It prepared them for when Christ would come.  But now, rather than basing their salvation on works, it was to be done in faith. 

I love it when Paul points out that God said Abraham and his seed, not "seeds."   That "seed"  was and is Jesus Christ.  He was the only one who could save us from the curse.  No amount of work we do is going to save us, only Christ.  God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him.  This mean "ALL" nations.  Jew and gentile alike.  (Me and you and everybody else!)

Paul finishes Galatians 3 with this statement: "And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to the promise."  This verse brings to my memory a song we sing to the kids in church...

"Father Abraham, had many sons, many sons had Father abraham.  I am one of them, and so are you, so let's just praise the Lord."  For me, I love that I can say I am a member of Abraham's family.  It means I am part of the promise.

Be blessed,

Sue