Ephesians 4:1-16 - Called and Gifted for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-16

Walk in Unity

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Spiritual Gifts

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Living in a worthy way is based on our thanksgiving to God for His incredible grace in the gift of our salvation and of His residence in us as we are placed into Christ and His righteousness.  This should make us shout for joy and live for Him in willing response accordingly.  We often need to be reminded of this, unfortunately, as life in the world around us pulls at us and the trials and tribulations mount against us.  This is what the apostle wrote to the believers residing in Christ at Ephesus.  He called them to follow Christ with comfort and assurance while motivating them to obedience to honor and please God who had done all these things, the most of all being the must of all time being unveiled in their hearts and souls of Christ in them as the hope of glory now and to come!   This is what it means to be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17-18) to really understand the work God has done in them in Christ.  We are told some way to live pleasing and worthy lives such as being humble and respectful instead of overbearing and proud.  We are also called to suffer with patience without expecting a quick resolution in relationships as we leverage godly love as of Christ for us while we seek peace with one another in true spiritual unity by the work and power of God’s Spirit living in us and guiding us (Isaiah 30:21).  We are reminded of the singular faith of one body under Him as our head that binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We all have the same hope because we experienced the same calling out of the darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9) of grace.  We all have the same one Lord, faith, and baptism because we now know the same one sovereign God and Father of us and over us all.  This is true unity and the driving force to love each other in our lives and hearts according to the scriptures.  The grace we have been given also has specific gifts to each one to serve on another in this body under the direction and abilities given by the Lord, just as we read in Psalm 68:18-19 concerning these spiritual gifts of grace in our salvation.  We are reminded that we have been bought at such a price that the Son of God had to come down from heaven to the lower part of His creation, namely earth, to enter death and ascend back to where He came from in the heavenly place of His sovereign throne.  He has been everywhere in order to buy us back from our lost and hopeless state!  Therefore, we are told how these gifts are given for the work of continuing this good news (Matthew 28:18-20, John 14:12).  These include roles to minister to others in this body, roles such as apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, pastors and teachers, all so that this body may become healthy as it grows in the grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) of the truth we all minister and proclaim.  We minister to equip others to continue this work of the gospel as we make disciples (2 Timothy 2:2) of those faithful followers who strive to live in a worthy way.  The goal is a unified understanding of the Lord according to the scriptures as mature and unmoving in the face of false doctrine and deception of the enemy’s foot soldiers.  With solid doctrine we are not moved away with mere emotion and tall tales, but are driven and guided by truth to spiritual maturity that we may continue to speak God’s truth in love in the face of such adversity and adversaries.  If we then do our individual parts to contribute to the whole of the body of Christ and not our own pursuits, then we find ourselves functioning as the Lord intends.  We build each other up in Christ with love as of His love for us, sacrificially and with purpose.  Whatever spiritual gifts we are given are not for show or to prove our calling, but as a result of our calling and for the good of the body with order and humility of purpose.  We are rightly wary of those who misuse these for anything else.  We are called and gifted for ministry in the body of Christ under His authority that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10-11) as we make Him known to the world. 

Ephesians 3:14-21 - Appreciate the Mystery!

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Because the once hidden work of God’s sovereign plan from eternity to eternity has been unveiled at last in Christ, we worship Him as the apostle wrote here.  It has been shown through the gospel how we who are brought near to God the Father through Christ the Son are one household of the Lord of all, no longer a single chosen nation but a family of chosen ones from every nation and people as promised through Abraham (Genesis 17:4, Romans 4:17-18).  This revelation includes giving us all heavenly riches (not earthly as some erroneously claim) by the working of His Spirit in us to comprehend the infinite dimensions (Ephesians 1:17-18) of the love of God given us in the person and work of His Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ!  We now who are in Christ find strength in the inner man in Him as we now know these things and are planted firmly in Christ and experience all His fullness of acceptance and love.  We understand that His working for and in each of us is far greater than we can imagine in ourselves and that this divine revelation of the truth hidden from the beginning in His word sets us free at last to grasp the power of His working and give Him the glory in our awe to those around us and to follow after until His return to bring us all before His face with all sorrow and suffering eliminated forever.  We who have been called out of the darkness of sin and been shown the glory of God behind the veil now can worship in spirit and truth as we appreciate the hidden mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27-28) whom we proclaim through the gospel! 

Ephesians 3:1-13 - Hidden Work of God Revealed

Ephesians 3:1-13

The Mystery Revealed

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

The gospel can be described simply as the hidden work of God finally revealed in the coming of Jesus the Christ to explain God’s plan from before time began.  Paul the apostle was given the task of being a spokesman of the Lord as the prophets of the Old Testament in order to write and speak the word of God which is our scripture we know today.  This authority to Paul was through revelation of the mystery of God’s work to him for all our sakes by His grace.  As we read what he wrote, we also come to understand the mystery of Christ which he described in Colossians 1:26-27 as Christ come to dwell in us as the hope of glory hidden from our comprehension down through time but now revealed to those He calls to Himself by His Spirit come to live in us.  This revelation has laid buried in the Old Testament scriptures the whole time right in front of us (Luke 24:26-27, 31) but not seen until our blind eyes are fully opened by Him and explained to us by the apostles as the prophets before them did but were not understood.  Now the eternal mystery is shown to us in Christ through the gospel of grace in the work of Jesus Christ, the hidden plan of God to call the nations to join those within Israel as the true chosen children of God who through faith believe and receive Him as God’s word to save us and make us His own!  We who are called in Christ through the promise to Abraham as the father of many by taking God at His word are now heirs of heaven and a body under Christ as the head of this church family by God’s goodness of unearned merit we call grace.  The effective working of God’s power was demonstrated in His Son and in the apostles who followed to explain all He taught them that we all may continue to teach these (Matthew 28:20) to others as part of the Gospel proclamation.  Paul did not consider himself a super saint but an undeserving one given a great responsibility to understand and describe these unveiled mysteries of God’s word and work to us as His spokesman and divine mouthpiece of God’s grace.  These unsearchable riches of the kingdom of heaven in Christ have been proclaimed to us as to those he spoke to in the first century, which things originated in the beginning of creation as created in and through Christ (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16-17) as the living Word of God.  This revealed wisdom of the Lord is given to the church to boldly proclaim as the gospel, the good news, of hope in the face of heavenly opposition of the adversary and his fallen angels who war in futility against Christ and we who have His testimony as Revelation 12:17 reveals to us.  The eternal purpose of God then is to bring His chosen ones to Himself through the work and word of Jesus Christ His Son and give we His children open access to the Father in the power of His Spirit (Hebrews 4:16) as the veil of separation from the holy of holies has been removed (Matthew 27:51, 2 Corinthians 3:15-16, Hebrews 10:19-20) from our spiritual sight to directly approach God without an intermediary priest for acceptable living.  Jesus Christ is the only priest we need to go to.  No man or woman can mediate (1 Timothy 2:5) between the Father and us but Jesus alone.  To say otherwise is to refute God’s word in disbelief and disobedience.  We must therefore hold fast to the truth in unwavering hope and confident conviction of all that has been revealed in the scriptures to us.  If we suffer for this then we join the apostle and countless other saints made holy in believing the gospel, being transformed, and then under attack of the adversary for this revelation of the mystery of God in the gospel.  This gives us strength and comfort to encourage us to endure and rejoice in the hidden work of God revealed in the work and words of Jesus Christ our sovereign Lord. 

Ephesians 2:11-22 - Firmly Founded in Peace on Christ

Ephesians 2:11-22

Brought Near by His Blood

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ Our Peace

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 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, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We who call ourselves Christians know from this passage of scripture that we are firmly and eternally founded on peace in Christ.  We have been called together in Him for peace with God (Romans 5:1), both out of the original chosen nation of Israel, which was the channel of God’s salvation, and out of the rest of the nations as promised to be added to Abraham long before Israel existed.  We were hopeless and godless outside of the promises entrusted to Israel and not included in the covenant of works, yet all from both inside and outside the nation of Israel were without Christ (save a few who anticipated the coming Messiah) until the hidden will of God was revealed (Galatians 4:3-5) when Immanuel walked among (John 1:14) us.  Now everyone who was far from God has been called to be drawn near at last to God through His Son by the working of His Spirit through the word of His gospel!  This was made possible by Jesus dying for us as a perfect sacrifice whose shed blood covers our sin once and for all and forever, never having to be repeated yearly (Hebrews 9:24-25, 27-28) by an imperfect high priest with imperfect sacrifices of animals which were a foreshadowing of the true sacrifice to reveal God’s mystery of Christ in us being made possible at last.  As our perfect sacrifice, Christ Jesus the Messiah became the foundation of the building of the church of God as its cornerstone that sets the position and purpose of all the added stones of whom we are (1 Peter 2:5-6, 9-10) in and on Him.  Jesus therefore is our peace as He brings us together as one people of one God founded on Christ and His work alone and not upon a Magisterium of man’s own imagined making as a hollow replacement for the foundation of the living Word of God (John 1:1) and His written words to us.  By dying on a tree of our cursing, Jesus fulfilled the Law which we cannot and substituted Himself and His life through death to offer us reconciliation and peace with God by that life given for us in His blood (Leviticus 17:11, John 6:53, Hebrews 9:14) as we are made clean in His righteousness in the circumcision (Romans 2:29) of our hearts.  He paid the price for our sin and offers permanent peace with Him through the work of the cross of sacrifice so that we can enter the holy place behind the forbidden veil (Hebrews 6:19-20, 10:19-22) of the most holy place of worship.  We now have direct access to God the Father through His Spirit living in us because of the work of the Son to purchase our salvation!  We need no priest to access God or His forgiveness of absolution anymore as some erroneously claim and demand, for we have direct access to the throne of grace because of the work of Christ (Hebrews 4:16).  These truths all point to the fact that we are all children of God in Christ alone as we are all in the righteousness of Christ and therefore called saints, not just people we elect and elevate to be called thus when we know God alone calls us His saints (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2) based on His holiness and not our own.  We are founded by faith in Him and on Him as we align ourselves to the chief cornerstone and not man’s sandy foundation.  He is molding and building us together in Christ as His place of true worship (John 4:23) as we the universal hidden church consisting of all reborn believers are being constructed by God’s hand to make a holy place for Him to live forever!  We who are His have been firmly founded in peace on Christ alone and not on any human institution that attempts to usurp God’s work. 

Ephesians 2:1-10 - Saving Grace of Life

Ephesians 2:1-10

By Grace Through Faith

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We are all born dead in sin.  Period.  No exceptions.  This is inherited sin of a fallen nature passed down in our spiritual DNA from Adam as made clear in Romans 5:12, 17-18 and continued in our daily sins of our ongoing failure to keep the entirety of God’s Law (Romans 3:23, James 2:10) and earning more wrath.  We are as all born of woman from this corrupted seed initially made good but which the deceit of the adversary turned our fore-bearers to doubt God’s word and try to gain our own understanding of good and evil as continues to echo down through the ages ever since.  We who have been gifted with faith to take God at His word in the work and person of His Son Jesus Christ now have been delivered from sin’s penalty in the grace of His goodness which we do not deserve.  We no longer live in step with the deceiver in the course the world still takes in disbelief and disobedience to the gospel, but we look back at our rebellious nature and acts with disdain and relief in thankfulness of this grace.  Yes, we no longer pursue the inordinate desires which once ruled our corrupt nature as those apart from Christ still do (1 John 2:15-16) and now seek to live to please the Lord (1 John 2:17) in willing obedience and holiness as we reflect on the fact that we are no longer children of wrath on our sin but children adopted by God in Christ Jesus as children of grace and love by acting on this faith to trust God’s work and wisdom to know good and evil.  We understand that it is through the mercy of God in heaven expressed in his love for we whom He has called, chosen (Matthew 20:16, Revelation 17:14), and drawn to Himself (John 6:44) and given a new life (John 5:24, Galatians 2:20) together with and in Christ.  This Grace has raised us from death in our sins to life in Him with a certain hope of promise to love before His face forever after death when our bodies are raised incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Peter 1:4) and we sit with Him apart from the presence of sin at last!  This promise and work on our behalf gives us the reason to glorify the Father in Heaven for these indescribable riches (2 Corinthians 9:15) of Grace and kind goodness freely bestowed on we who believe the gospel.  Yes, only by this grace does true faith save us because it originates in Him and not in our own understanding or efforts, and we grasp that this gift of faith to know and choose with a new regenerated soul can receive (John 1:12) the Son of God for deliverance from His wrath on our sin.  We have no boast in seeking, finding, or choosing Jesus Christ.  We then who are called and chosen have chosen Him in faith and now live according to the Law put into our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Romans 2:15, 2 Corinthians 3:3) to willingly follow and do these works prepared for us to do for Him out of thanksgiving and because He has written these into the scripts of our regenerated lives to be His well-pleasing adopted children.  May we who know Him keep His word in our sight as it moves from our hearts where it is chiseled to our hands and feet where it is designed to be worked out (Philippians 2:12-13) as He continues to work His saving grace of eternal life in and through us.  Amen!

Ephesians 1:15-23 - Pray for Enlightened Eyes

Ephesians 1:15-23

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 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, 18 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, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Paul prayed wisdom and unveiled understanding for the believers in Ephesus after hearing ongoing good reports of their faith being exercised as they lived out the gospel with love.  They demonstrated love for God and one another as the summation of the commandments (Mark 12:30-31) as they had been taught by the words of the Lord passed on to them (Matthew 28:20) and the apostle was ever thankful for their faithfulness.  He therefore continually thanked God for them and demonstrated that by likewise always praying for them to the God of the Lord Jesus Christ and Father of glory in the power of His indwelling Spirit.  He prayed for spiritual wisdom and unveiling of knowledge taught by God through the word and His Spirit (Hebrews 5:14) because they looked to the Lord to learn such knowledge of good and evil, having likely considered the results of seeking that apart from Him as Adam and Eve had done in grabbing the fruit of that tree to have their own knowledge and bringing sin into the world and to us all.  God gives such knowledge and understanding in our renewed spirits to know Him more and what works have been prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) in the glorious hope of our calling our of darkness into the wonderful light of His presence.  We then begin to grasp the treasures of our calling that displays God’s glory in His work in us as we are His inheritance as written in the will or testament of Jesus Christ in whom we are the hidden mystery of Christ in us (Colossians 1:26-27) as the hope of glory hidden in the word of God since the beginning but now revealed by the Son of God in us!  We also are given the infinite power of God working in us who trust His word as Abraham did as the pattern for our faith in God’s work in Christ’s resurrection and ascension to the sovereign seat of all authority (Matthew 28:18) which is the source of the gospel’s power in proclamation of God’s work.  This Lord Jesus Christ is above all and in us all who have been called out to Himself both now and into forever.  This is what Paul prayed for the believers as which we should also pray for and pursue ourselves.  We understand the mystery of the coming of the Son of God and His work in and through us as His children and people of all nations in union with Christ.  We have been given understanding of what is means to be part of His body, the universal church, and the knowledge that He is head and authority over us all for His glory and our good as Romans 8:28 tells us.  We therefore follow the pattern of prayer set here for God to grant such spiritual wisdom of enlightened eyes to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to pursue the knowledge of the Lord by the instruction of His Spirit through the word and others He chooses to teach and preach the gospel to us. 

Ephesians 1:1-14 - Sovereign Authority of our Redemption

Ephesians 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Here Paul begins by pointing out his authority is given by God and not an office he sought out or earned by any goodness or ability of his own.  It is important to the readers of this letter to know that these words therefore are God’s words to us all, both the direct recipients of the letter written to the believers in Ephesus and to us now who are made holy in Christ’s righteousness and so named as saints.  This name has been adulterated by the Roman system to exclude all believers who have believed into Jesus Christ and His righteousness and made into a mockery of God work by attributing sainthood to those selected by man and not by God as the apostles were and all reborn believers are in Christ alone.  The reformers knew this well and exposed the false doctrine of saints as well as pointing out the authority of scripture over any man’s, including the pope and the religious system claiming authority and superiority over biblical structure and practice of worship.  Our grace and peace come through the authority of Jesus Christ as the one chosen by the Lord wrote to us in this letter and others under the inspiration of Christ and His Spirit to convey the Father’s truth and commands to us which we teach (Matthew 28:19-20) to converts whom God saves by the message we have been entrusted with and proclaim as the best of good news to the world.  This same Lord has blessed us spiritually in the inner man with heavenly authority and grace because we are brought into Christ through repentance and faith given by Him that we may be reborn as new people (Galatians 2:20) and made His children and heirs of eternal life.  We had been chosen to be the children of God from before time began, before God spoke the universe into existence!  This truth of God’s authority and will is most uncomfortable and rejected by believers who have been taught doctrines of men as Rome has done (who also reject that we can be assured of our salvation and eternal destination in Christ) because it negates man’s power of will and self determination to choose salvation apart from God’s enabling work.  The word of God still has authority over man’s teaching as it is written here and other places (Romans 8:29-30, 1 Peter 1:2) concerning God’s predetermined work to choose us that we may appear to choose Him.  This predestination of God grates against our pride of choice and is magnified even more in democratic societies where all appears to be a result of our own works instead of those of a sovereign God.  It is therefore God who chooses His children as heirs of eternity, adopted in love and made holy in our position in Christ and His holiness that makes every child of God a saint.  This is His good will toward men (Luke 2:14) and grace of the free gift of deliverance from sin’s penalty earned by the work of Jesus Christ alone.  God our Father has made us accepted in His Beloved by the Grace in which we glorify Him!  Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of sin by sacrificing Himself on the tree of cursing we call the cross, covering our sin by the lifeblood of His life given for ours in the perfect sacrifice that never needs to be repeated as the animal sacrifices were done yearly in the temple of old.  This grace has revealed these previously hidden things of His will and predetermined purpose to us according to His good will and not our own wisdom.  He now gathers His chosen children together in the time prepared (Galatians 4:4-5) from the moment God became a man (John 1:1, 14) among us, Immanuel.  He is gathering us to Himself and giving us such an everlasting inheritance as we trust Him according to His word like Abraham before us (Romans 4:13, 16, 23-25) to give all glory to the Savior of all whom He calls.  When He calls a man or woman to Himself He gives us the faith to understand and take Him at His word for this work done in His Son to buy us back (redeem) at such a price and then seals us as His own forever by His own Spirit as a signet ring of eternal ownership.  This presence of God Himself within us who teaches us all things is our guarantee of salvation which cannot be lost or forfeited.  These things are to the praise of His glory for the work of Christ and calling as His inheritance by the predetermined calling of our sovereign Lord and Savior who is our sovereign authority of redemption.  Amen and amen. 

Galatians 6:11-18 - Blood Flowing Down the Cross

Galatians 6:11-18

Glory Only in the Cross

11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

Blessing and a Plea

16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Like the apostle before us setting the example, we must adopt the minds of glorying in Jesus Christ and the cross that we may reckon ourselves crucified and dead to the world and the world to us.  This is what it means to come to our Lord to die with Him that we can live together (Romans 14:8, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 1:20-21) with Him in newness of life (Romans 6:4-5, 11) as crucified because we died and are not who we once were.  How then can we ever imagine that returning to earn God’s grace by our religious works as the Jewish Christians tried with circumcision, which was only a picture of the true cleansing of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16) by Jesus in this new life, could ever earn us points with God?  These mentioned here were circumcised out of fear of persecution for adopting this scriptural view that they might avoid suffering for the cross which meant their death to these old rituals of the Law without eternal affect.  We should likewise be wary of turning into religious chameleons at the expense of our witness of the cross on which we put these rules to death as means to earn righteousness which only is found in the Lord who alone kept the entirety of the Law, perfectly and completely down to the smallest point (James 2:10) that we cannot.  Furthermore, we are warned that those who would compel us to follow the rituals of the Law as these did in Galatia only want to use it against us to discredit our witness of grace found only in the cross of Christ as they boast in making us their disciples instead of His.  We are to adopt Paul’s worldview that we glory only in the cross where Jesus did the works of the Law for us to put our sin’s punishment to death once and for all.  Only a new creation in our new birth of regeneration through our redemption by the life of Christ written in blood flowing down the cross has any eternal value, not our works apart from receiving His perfect work (John 6:29) for our deliverance of saving grace.  We who then love this way of the cross have peace and mercy in Christ Jesus as we will also bear the marks of our Lord when we are persecuted for the truth in our uncompromising lives of the gospel.  Then we also have the grace of the Lord with our spirits as this letter closes with.  We boast then in the blood flowing down the cross of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (John 1:29) forever by grace alone according to His work alone.  This trust in the cross we share with our Lord is our only hope and boasting; our works are a result of this work of Christ and not the basis of our salvation.

Galatians 6:1-10 - Bearing Burdens and Loads

Galatians 6:1-10

Bear and Share Burdens

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

Be Generous and Do Good

6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We are urged to restoration of sinners caught up in their sin when they falter and fall, not to treat them with condemnation or shunning without first attempting to reconcile them to the Lord through repentance.  Those of us who are truly spiritual and regenerate should humbly understand and weep with those who weep as well as rejoice with those who are rejoicing.  Only the immature in faith attack and being fellow sinners down with heartless zeal instead of a godly appeal.  We remember that we also are fallible and anyone of us can be tempted to fall into the same or similar situations and be overtaken (James 1:14-15) by sin as we fall into its snare.  We are therefore to help bear the burdens others endure to help hold them up with our example and encouragement of the scriptures in love and concern of true care for the state of their souls.  But if we allow our pride to declare we would never do such a thing as that sinner, we must beware of the self-deceit that leads to our own times of being overtaken by temptations and committing sin as a result of our arrogant pride that cannot feel the plight of another.  We therefore should work for true church discipline when our coming alongside another fails that the body collectively can bring the fellow sinner to repentance and restoration in fellowship.  This reflection on our own frailty shows us our own works in God’s eyes of grace and stops our comparison with others as if we are any better or more spiritual.  We are to judge ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:31, Psalm 32:5, 1 John 1:8-10) then we can rejoice in doing the right things to please God as we take responsibility to bear our own burdens and take time to help others deal with their heavy troubles of their own weighty temptations they need help with.  The apostle then reminds us as he did the church in Galatia to share with those who teach them these things to come to this maturity in the faith while we run the race as Philippians 3:15-16 also reminds us.  What we sow in others we reap in accolades from the Lord; this means that we need to heed the things we plant lead to spiritual growth that last into eternity and not worldly corruption and the consequences of sin.  We are to be kingdom and heavenly minded.  This motivates us to not give up in our struggles against sin (Hebrews 12:4) and ensures we will reap good things in ourselves and fellow believers as we serve God and man.  May we take every opportunity to do good to all in life with a special regard for fellow believers because we sharpen and uphold one another as the household of God (Ephesians 2:19, 22) in watchful care and engaging concern.  This is bearing burdens and loads as a spiritually maturing person. 

Galatians 5:16-26 - Walk in the Spirit!

Galatians 5:16-26

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We are to live in the leading of God’s Spirit.  If we pursue the things of God in Christ according to the word of God, we can avoid the desires to please our flesh in ungodly ways and please our Savior Lord as 1 John 2:16-17 commands us.  This means willingly and intentionally putting sin to death (Romans 8:13, Ephesians 4:22-24) by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God who is present in all who are His (Romans 8:9, 1 John 4:13).  We see the battle of the old nature of sin set on passing pleasures in opposition to Him and His good design and will for us as it fights against the new man (Galatians 2:20) risen from death to life with Christ.  This battle is too often lost as we are pressed to do what we no longer want to do, yet we are not to be condemning ourselves when we fail as if still under the Law of works to “do these things and live” or face judgment and death, for we have the forgiveness and grace of God in Jesus Christ to cover that sin (1 John 1:9, Romans 6:14, 7:4) and bear fruits of righteousness to God.  The list of these works of the flesh listed here cover most of the sin we battle with to cover trespasses of moral, sexual, idolatrous, unloving, dissenting, hateful, and selfish attitudes and actions which are in opposition to God’s character and designed intentions for we who are His creations.  Those who practice these things just as before while claiming Christ for salvation have not been changed through saving grace or they would not willingly continue in those practices without conviction or seeking forgiveness.  Such will not and cannot inherit the kingdom of God.  God knows the true convert (2 Timothy 2:19, John 10:27-28) and expects us to be following all we are taught by Him as part of the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20) of a changed life made new in desires and purpose.  When God changes a man or woman and calls them to follow, He gives us the power and wisdom of the Helper (John 14:15-16) within us to bear good fruit as He works in us to will and do (Philippians 2:13) what pleases Him.  This fruit has the godly characteristics of “love, joy, peace, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” which there is no law against as there is for the unrighteous deeds we work in our fallen flesh of the old man we must daily put to death as we die to self (Romans 6:6, 1 Corinthians 15:31, Ephesians 4:22) and live for Christ.  We are therefore urged and commanded to both live in love and walk in step with His Spirit with willing obedience and not in conflict with one another as we try to vainly prove we are more righteous or entitled than any other person in the grace of God in Christ.  The Lord commands and compels us to walk in the Spirit! 

Galatians 5:1-15 - Liberty and Justice for All

Galatians 5:1-15

Christian Liberty

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Love Fulfills the Law

7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

There is liberty in our freedom from the Law of works through the grace of Christ’s work bit the danger is always to slide back to our old ways of thinking we earn our favor or even salvation by making the good works prepared for us to do into requirements for our standing in Christ.  We have been set eternally free from the Law of sin and death!  How and why would we want to get enslaved again to those legalistic laws and rituals such as circumcision which only was a shadow of the true circumcision of a heart (Romans 2:29) cleansed by the Lord in making us new?  This example of the Law demonstrates that we are looking backwards to keeping the rest of the Law as required and then realizing we are utterly unable to do so.  This is foolish.  It only distances us from Christ and His grace as we attempt to substitute our fallible and feeble attempts at working righteousness while disregarding His righteousness worked for us on the cross that we are only able to bear with Him.  We cannot ever be justified by the Law of our works to earn or keep our salvation.  Rather, we find our faith in His work in the love of God for us enables us to be in the position of the on justified by the Justifier (Romans 3:26) and we love Him in return by doing the good prepared for us to work out of faith and not to earn anything as we love to please the one who suffered and died for us.  If we want to continue to run this race well, we must heed the truth and follow Him in it and not our own way with sinful sprinklings of our own faithless efforts.  This is why we need to carefully sift the teaching we hear and compare it with scripture (Acts 17:11) to see what is true and what is being added to justify our actions and goodness apart from Christ and His work in us (Philippians 1:6) to the end of the race (Philippians 3:12-14, Hebrews 12:1) that we not be misled from the path of life leading by grace to the Celestial City.  Those who troubled the Galatians would bear the judgment of the Lord for their false teaching just as they do to this day.  Paul wished they would cut themselves off from them as a play on words of the cutting off of the foreskin of circumcision for demanding that work of the flesh for acceptance by God when it was really God’s work of the heart circumcision that cleansed their souls.  The call to freedom in Christ rings loud and clear down through time to us today that we may serve each other without demanding legalistic adherence to rituals to earn God favor already given us!  We do all as the heart of the Law demands by loving God and our neighbors as ourselves.  The justice of God paid our price, but justice also holds us accountable if we mislead others and consume them instead of serving and helping them.  This warning should remind us to reorient our ways to follow His way in loving God and man and resting in His acceptance by grace instead of expending useless and even sinful energy in working for our salvation instead of working it out (Philippians 2:12-13) as sanctification in humble response.  This is true liberty and justice for us all. 

Galatians 4:21-31 - Covenants of Bondage and Freedom

Galatians 4:21-31

Two Covenants (Gen. 21:8–21; Is. 54:1)

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:

“Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.”

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

These two covenants of bondage and freedom are found in direct conflict with each other and the one is in con with God word and plan to deliver us by grace according to His perfect work and not our imperfect works which always miss the mark by falling short (Romans 3:23) of God’s requirements to atone for our sin.  Those under the old covenant of works contained in the letter of the Law are trapped in the bonds of sin which they cannot break unless they keep the Law completely and perfectly (James 2:10) to unlock eternal forgiveness to cover their sins fully.  Those under the new covenant of grace in the work Christ has done for them find a one-time sacrifice by the divine and eternal high priest has covered their sins once and for ever (Hebrews 9:11-12, 14-15, 10:10).  The picture is given from scripture of Sarah and Hagar, the free woman of promise and the bondwoman of enslavement, as the difference between those two covenants of requirements and of grace freely given by God’s choice of her descendants by the faith of Abraham.  The descendants of Hagar made great nations, but those of Sarah by promise through faith were given the inheritance of freedom from sin’s penalty by the goodness and free grace of God and not by vain attempts to earn salvation as those of Hagar’s offspring still vainly attempt in their contrived religious zeal.  We who are found in Christ are the children of God’s promise and are therefore persecuted by those of the illegitimate descendants whose efforts are squarely aimed at the destruction of God’s children of the inheritance.  These covenants of bondage to sin with ineffective works and the covenant of freedom by grace based on God’s perfect atoning work on the cross are still fueling the adversary’s attacks on the children of the promise (Revelation 12:17) who have faith in God’s work and the testimony of true God (John 6:29, 17:3) Jesus Christ.  Those who are in the new covenant of the atoning sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ alone are the children of the promise which they cannot earn and therefore are command not to go on trying to as the church in Galatia was warned here.  We do well to listen as we read these things and not claim we serve the same God as those outside the promise as some erroneously claim today, nor should we attempt to gain or keep our acceptance by God win anything besides the work of Christ on our behalf as we attempt to be justified by our good works to prove it to ourselves and others.  We are justified by faith alone as we are found in Christ’s righteousness and not ours which we cannot earn or attain apart from this gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) of faith given to result in good works (Ephesians 2:10) prepared for us before we make them up to work our way to God.  If He sets you free, you are free indeed as John 8:36 and Romans 8:2 assure us!