Posts that reference the book of Ephesians

Key Ingredients for Growth: Light

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

We’re looking at the things a plant must have in order to grow — like good dirt, water, light and protection — and thinking about how that applies to us. We started off with the good, rich dirt and how our church can be that nurturing environment. But if the dirt isn’t regularly infused with water, that is the word of God, we will dry out very quickly. That’s not all we need. If the rich dirt is well-watered but shaded, the plant will lose strength and die. We need light for growth.

As we think through these, it’s important to remember that this is an analogy and won’t have a one-to-one correspondence between picture and reality, and we are likely to see a lot of overlap. The point still stands that there are some critical things that we need to grow as believers.

The theme of light is woven throughout Scripture. It is associated with God, His presence, and His glory. Certainly we have no life without God. He first formed Adam. Job 33:4 affirms this. So as we saw with water, we cannot grow until we are first made alive, and God is ultimately and solely responsible for giving us life.

Light is also used symbolically and metaphorically in Scripture and those ideas are the ones we will draw from for our study.

Light is understanding
In the opening chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul mentions that he prays regularly for the church there, and this is what he prays: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power Ephesians 1:17-19

In other words, Paul prays that God would help the believers in Ephesus understand:

The HOPE that comes with being called to salvation in Christ Jesus
The RICHES and GLORY of the inheritance the believers will receive.
The EXCEEDING GREATNESS of God’s power working on our behalf, transforming us to be more like Christ

As those realities sink in, as they take hold of our hearts and our minds, the only response is a deeper commitment to live for Christ, that is to live in obedience and honor Him in everything. That light then shines into the darkness around us.

Light is righteousness
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

We must live a different, distinct lifestyle from the rest of the world. Our conversation, our conduct, our compassion, our discipline, our work ethic, our generosity, our patience must set us apart from the standards of the culture. We must be distinguished by the active good that we do more than the evil we oppose. (And I’m not saying don’t oppose evil. Of course we oppose evil. But if the only thing the body of Christ is known for is what we are against, we have a problem. We are not communicating the love of Jesus.)

As we continue to live a life that honors Jesus, that imitates Him, we will grow.

Next week we’ll look at one more necessary thing – protection.

Key Ingredients for Growth: Water

By Paula

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

We’re looking at the things a plant must have in order to grow — like good dirt, water, light and protection — and think about how that applies to us. Last week we thought about the good, rich dirt and how our church can be that nurturing environment. But that dirt can only get you so far. If it dries out, the plant is not going to last long. Oh, it will fold in on itself for a little while and try to survive, but it can’t. We need water to grow.

The New Testament mentions water a few times so we’ll lean on those verses as we think about what is critically important to our growth. The first one comes as Jesus sits on the side a well in the Samaritan city of Sychar, talking to a woman who has come to draw her day’s supply of water.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Then a little later, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths), Jesus announces:

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:38-39

So what does that tell us. First we can’t expect to grow as believers if we are not genuinely saved. If we have simply embarked on a Christian-ish program of self-improvement, we won’t see any more more transformation than I would see if I swore off M&Ms.

Birth must precede growth.

We have to come face to face with the reality that our sin offends a holy God and we are hopeless to ever make amends. However, perfect, sinless Jesus Christ has been judged for our sins, in our place, and God will accept that judgment and the death sentence that was carried out. Jesus’s resurrection is proof that God approved of Christ’s death on our behalf. Of course, this is not a global, general thing. It has to be an individual transaction. That’s why we use the term “personal” savior.

The Holy Spirit helps us grow.

How do we know that we are really born anew and not just messing around? If we understand how offensive our sin is to God and that horrible price it demanded for redress … we commit our lives to living in a way that pleases that holy God, even if we fail sometimes, the trajectory of our lives is clearly aimed at being like Jesus. That is accomplished not by us promising to do better but by the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit Jesus was talking about in John 7:38-39.

The Word helps us grow.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Ephesians 5:24-25

Paul adds another dimension to that water that we need to grow. He uses a theological word – sanctify. Sanctification is the process we go through that takes us from newborn babies who just believed in Jesus to fully mature saints in the very presence of God. (Hint: We won’t finish the process in this life.)

He says Christ cleanses us with the word. What “word” does Paul mean? Jesus is called the Word at the beginning of John’s gospel. The gospel is called the word (as in, preach the word). The Bible is called the word. You could make a case for all three. Jesus does the cleansing by His death on the cross. The gospel lets us know that we can’t do anything on our own, but we need Jesus for everything. (John 15:5) And as we learn about Christ and His ways through scripture we conform to it.

Immerse yourself in the Word. Soak in it. Read. Think about. Memorize. Study. Hear it taught and preached. Discuss it.

That’s how you grow.

Next week: Light.

Key Ingredients for Growth: Dirt

By Paula

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

Late last year, my husband took a different job and we moved back home. Home where we spent the first seven years of our married life, where he had grown up and just across the river from where I grew up. For the intervening twenty years, we lived in a rural community surrounded by farmland (with an oil refinery, too). Now we’re back where the farm is right outside the door. My husband’s family farmed and his brothers still do. We don’t have the acreage so we garden. All of this gives us plenty of opportunity to see how plants grow. Those lessons help us understand how we grow as believers and give us some things to consider that will help us grow. So over then next weeks we’re going to look at the things a plant must have in order to grow — like good dirt, water, light and protection — and think about how that applies to us.

We’ll start by considering the soil we plant in. To give our plants the best chance to grow and thrive, they need good soil. Not hard, compacted clay. Not loose sand, but rich dirt, full of nutrients and organic compounds. We need dirt that will allow the roots to grow, that has a balanced pH, and that’s not full of rocks and other junk. But before we can plant anything, the soil must be plowed, disked, and dragged. So composition, constitution and preparation.

Now the best analogy in the lives of believers for the dirt we plant in is the church. What kind of composition, constitution and preparation can help us grow?

Composition – The body of Christ needs to be rich and full of nutrients so that believers grow. Rich in mercy, like God (Ephesians 2:4), rich in good works (1 Timothy 6:18) and rich in faith (James 2:5). The Word of God must be the source of our nourishment, whether from the pulpit or in a small group. Just like the soil pH has to be balanced, we have balance uplift and encouragement with correction and admonition. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Constitution – How is the body put together? Is it difficult to learn and grow? The body of Christ needs pastors and teachers gifted by the Holy Spirit who rely on Him as they prepare. (I’ve had occasion to visit a lot of churches and classes in the last few years. They have all been led by sincere people who love Jesus, but that sincerity does not always lend itself to being a good teacher or expositor.) The curriculum or subject matter should be sound, well-written and relevant. Our small groups need to be organized so that everyone has the opportunity to take part, to ask questions, to participate and grow. We also may have to make sure that peripheral issues, church politics, personal preferences and other rocks don’t interfere with learning and growing?

Preparation – I put this one last, because it often falls last in our thinking. We don’t do any planning or preparation for growth and then we are surprised and disappointed when people don’t progress in their Christian walk. Farmers and gardeners will tell you, if you just sling out some seed and hope for the best … you’re going to be disappointed. I’m afraid that’s how we sometimes approach our Commission. We’ll just throw the gospel out there and good things have to happen. It could work that way, but let’s think about how Jesus did it. Jesus taught His disciples, sent them out to practice what they learned, helped them download the experiences, taught them deeper stuff, then handed off responsibility to them. Paul used the same progression with Timothy, Titus and others. This was intentional and purposeful, not accidental. It is hard work but it is a critical step if we want to see growth. When people come into the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to make sure they progress to a place of service and not let them languish as spectators.

Are you growing? Is your church good soil? What can you do to improve the composition, constitution or preparation of the soil?

Next week: Water

Read the other posts in the series

Because God Sees

By Paula

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Genesis 16:13

I have hesitated to post the dozens of others who have suffered unjustly, not because I lack moral clarity on the issue but because first of all, I’m not sure the world needs my voice weighing in. I’m not an intellectual or a theologian. I’m not a social scientist or advocate. I’m pretty low-profile and introverted at that. Second, it is extremely easy to say things poorly and have those misunderstood. I would stop writing before I would wrongly offend or hurt someone with words.

Paul says in Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” And in Ephesians 4:29, he says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Every post – but especially this one – is with those two admonitions firmly in mind.

You may remember the story of Hagar in Genesis 16. She was a slave who became pregnant with Abraham’s son as part of Sarah’s scheme to speed up the outworking of God’s plan. Then Hagar was mistreated and oppressed until it became unbearable and she fled into the desert. At a spring, she was met by the Angel of the Lord. As a result of the encounter, she recognized that God was the God Who Sees. El Roi.

Make no mistake, God sees oppression and mistreatment. He affirms this over and over.

Genesis 4:10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Exodus 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
Exodus 22:23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
Psalm 72:12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.

God has a heart for the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the minorities. If we are the people of God, if we want a heart like God, we must have a tender heart that breaks for the mistreatment of others. We must see because God sees.

However, I think before our hearts can break, we have to shine a penetrating holy light into its dark corners. You see, the unsettling thing about the story of Hagar is that the oppressor, Sarah, and the passive enabler, Abraham … were the people of God.

So what do we do?

The pagan king in Nineveh actually said it well. He called for fasting, for mourning, and for repentance. “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. (Jonah 3:7-8)

This is not a time for pushback and self-justification. Both of those are arrogant and self-righteous. It is a time for humility and brokenness before God for the suffering of innocent people and for the overt and hidden prejudices we hold.

Then as the people of God, we have to take action toward reconciliation. Lasting reconciliation is not going to be achieved apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Racial tensions are not new. Our culture is not the first to struggle with them. In New Testament times, one marked tension was between Jews and Gentiles. Paul explains how the gospel transform those tensions.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:14-16)

The middle wall, the commandments and ordinances all prevented Gentiles from having full access to God’s presence, from being full participants in the system of worship. The gospel blows that apart. We are all sinners before God in need of redemption and when He saves us, we become part of the same body. That should destroy any enmity between us.

Every day, we need the transforming power of the gospel to enable us to treat everyone with dignity, with compassion and with self-sacrificing love. That is a tall order. And in our own strength, it is impossible. But as we do that difficult work, lives will be changed (including ours) cultures will be changed, God will be glorified and the kingdom will advance.

When it comes right down to it, this is not optional.

Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

May we be controlled by the love of Christ and live only for Him.

A Study in Contrasts: God, who is rich in mercy

By Paula

Study in Contrasts God rich in mercy title graphic

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, Ephesians 2:4 (ESV)

Today we finish up our study of contrasts in Scripture, marked by the conjunction ‘but’. We’ll consider perhaps the greatest contrast of all. Ephesians is a rich, deep book, worthy of slow, serious study. Paul left Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus during his second missionary trip (Acts 18:18-19) and the couple founded the church. Paul pastored the church for three years, his longest tenure anywhere. After Paul, Timothy led the church and the Apostle John also pastored the church some years later. One of Paul’s major themes in the letter he wrote to the church was that they understand what an amazing gift salvation is. It’s in the middle of this discussion that we get to chapter 2.

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes who we were.

There’s not much need for comment or elaboration. Let’s just look at what Paul says.

We were spiritually dead in disobedience and sins, lots of them.
We lived in sin. It was our lifestyle, our frame of reference, our worldview.
We obeyed the devil. In fact, he was actively working in our hearts.
We gave in to whatever desires, inclinations, bad habits we wanted. Self-gratification was our driving force.
We were destined to be on the receiving end of God’s wrath.

Hold up here for a moment. That’s a lot of depravity right there. For many of us, our first reaction to that list is, “Yeah, but I wasn’t that bad.” Be honest. Granted, it is difficult for us, now that we have been redeemed, to re-imagine that mindset that made us enemies of God. But a failure to recognize our utter lostness and hopelessness prevents from grasping the wonder of what God did for us. Paul describes it verses 4-7.

It is into that darkness that the light of the glorious gospel bursts forth.

God, being rich in mercy. His mercy defines Him. He is a mercy-aire
His boundless love motivates moves Him to action. He cannot stand by and watch as we are condemned by our own rebellion. He chooses to get involved.
First, He makes us alive. He reverses the spiritual death that doomed us.
That spiritual life is an eternal thing. We will live forever, and so He made a place for us in heaven, in His dwelling place. See, He wants us with Him, with Christ Jesus. This is possible through the death and atonement of Jesus.
Why does He want us in heaven? So that He could explain to us how much He loves us, how His great mercy is and grace were poured out for us in the death of Christ to save us.

This is where words begin to fail. We rebel. But He redeems. We audaciously turn our backs. But He lovingly opens His heart. We deserve the justice of wrath. But He, being rich in mercy, delivers the grace of reconciliation.

So what do we take away from this?

Embrace the superabundant love of God, His delight and His grace. Do not listen to the whispers of the enemy who would try to convince you that you’re on probation, or it’s all a mirage.

Remember it’s all His work and none of ours. Serving Him now is the response of gratefulness not the obligation of debt. The debt is paid.

Ensure those still in darkness know that there is a way out, but only one way.

Want to study more of Ephesians? Study Tip: Ephesians

Read more from the Study in Contrasts series.

Underappreciated Virtues: Encouragement

By Paula

And when he had passed through those areas and offered them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece. Acts 20:2

You’ve no doubt seen the list at the end of 1 Corinthians 13 with faith, hope, and love. And I’m sure you’re familiar with the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in Galatians 5:22-23. Over the next few weeks, let’s take a moment or two to consider some underrated traits that are no less necessary in the body of Christ than some of these other fruits.

First up is energy-infusing encouragement. Not too long ago, we discussed Barnabas. Encouragement (also called exhortation or edification) was his specialty. A quick word search shows it popping up regularly in the book of Acts which means it was key to the growth of the early church. It’s safe to say it will help our churches grow today.

We all need encouragement. Even guys like the Apostle Paul need it. Think about that for a moment. The Apostle Paul needed encouragement from other believers. Romans 1:12 and Philippians 2:19 both mention how Paul looks forward to the encouragement he will receive from his fellow believers. (When you consider he was in prison when he wrote Philippians, that encouragement must have been extremely precious.)

Sometimes we focus on other things at the expense of encouragement. Paul reminds the Thessalonians, “As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). He also instructed Timothy, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul listed three things. Rebuke – tell where we need to straighten up. Correct – show us where we can do better. Encourage – tell us what we need to keep doing.

We need a balance. If we only ever hear things that give us warm fuzzies, we’ll get soft. If we’re only yelled at, we’ll get discouraged and maybe give up. Think of the very best coaches you or your kids played for or the best boss you worked for. What made the difference? I’m going to guess it was the encouragement received.

How do we encourage others?

I wish there was a verse with three or four easy ways to encourage others. But a thoughtful reading, especially of Paul’s instructions to the churches, can give us some ideas.

1. Watch our words – Ephesians 4:29 is very straightforward. “No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” It’s easy to read that verse and think because we don’t use R-rated vocabulary, it doesn’t apply. Let’s stretch it out to the spirit of the instruction, not just the strict letter. No gossip. No mean-spirited criticism. No disparaging, Spirit-quenching remarks. What if we expand it to body-language? No eye-rolls or frowns. Let’s replace those with kindness, with smiles, with compliments, with appreciation.

2. Do our part – In Ephesians 4:16, Paul says, “From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” See that? The body, that is, believers encourage each there when we all take part in ministry. We know this is true. One of the most DIS-couraging, burnout-inducing things is when we have to carry a heavy ministry load alone. How encouraging would it be if someone recognized that we could use a hand and offered it? How would it encourage your pastor to see the whole church involved in carrying out the Commission? Think about your church. Who is doing double or triple duty? How and where could you step up? If you’re unsure, make it a matter of prayer.

3. Love each other – That is the root and foundation of encouragement. 1 Corinthians 8:1 states exactly that. Love builds up. Our family of fellow believers is a refuge for us. They are a haven for us to escape to when life is challenging. OR at least they should be. Let’s deliberately decide that our church is not going to add another level of drama and frustration to our lives but that we come alongside one another with genuine love. Notice I said “decide.” Christlike love is not based on merit, nor is it reciprocation. It is an active choice to give of yourself for someone else.

There are other ways to encourage, but I think if we focus on these until we are really good at them, things will change. By the way, you don’t have to wait until Sunday to get started.

Next in the Underappreciated Virtues series: Maturity

Key Ingredients for Growth: Light

Key Ingredients for Growth: Water

Key Ingredients for Growth: Dirt

Because God Sees

Make no mistake, God sees oppression and mistreatment. He affirms this over and over.

So what do we do?

When it comes right down to it, this is not optional.

A Study in Contrasts: God, who is rich in mercy

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes who we were.

It is into that darkness that the light of the glorious gospel bursts forth.

So what do we take away from this?

Underappreciated Virtues: Encouragement

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series