All rights reserved worldwide. That is because this is far more a lyric of the love of God than a careful theological exposition. "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation [administration or stewardship] of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words; whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ); which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed." In these days of dividing walls of race and class and creed we must shake the earth anew with the message of the all-inclusive Christ, in whom there is neither bond nor free, Jew nor Greek, Scythian nor barbarian, but all are one.". There it is God Himself displays most His own glory; there He displays Christ Himself to all the heavenly hosts, delighting to put honour on that Man whom He raised from the dead and set at His own right hand. What does it matter about times, persons, or circumstances, if the Spirit abide to enable us, according to Scripture, diligently to keep His own unity? And then, as He begins to minister His truth to our heart, and He begins to really speak to us, they don't understand that thrill of God's Word really ministering to our lives and to the things of our lives. or our anger gets the better of us and we lash out. Then follows a prayer of the apostle the first of those he pours out for the Ephesian saints. "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.". Paul cannot do without Christ, you see. WebEvil Eyes Exaltation Exhaustion F Faith Faithfulness Family Father Fear Fear of the Lord Food Foreigner Forgiveness Freedom The Future G Gates Generations Gentleness Gifts This is pursued then first with reference to the Gentiles, for now the order is reversed. He is far less concerned with your tunefulness than your integrity. Look back to what you used to be, to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged: "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.". Now, what was the purpose of God? He broke down longstanding walls of prejudice and hostility between Jew and Gentile,male and female, slave and free. New International Version (NIV), In contexts like this, the Greek word for. Or secret places of the heart's own love. You have a wide range, for the life of God, his life in his new-born child, is the same life that is in every Christian. When last evening trying to realize the thought, it utterly overcame me. The Church will realize her unity only when she realizes that she does not exist to propagate the point of view of any body of men, but to provide a home where the Spirit of Christ can dwell and where all men who love Christ can meet in that Spirit. Until he finally concluded that life was empty and frustrating, there was nothing worthwhile under the sun, that is, after it says, "and all that I did not withhold from myself anything that my heart desired." Such contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death; even to go into a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean. WebMade Alive in Christ. The old clothes were comfy and familiar. May God save you now, ere you shall come to that consummation for which hell so sighs, and which heaven can alone avert. Do a certain thing. Loose him, and let him go ." Ah! You see, after the total indulgence of the lust of his flesh, not withholding anything from himself, he came to the conclusion life is empty and frustrating; there is nothing worthwhile under the sun. Altogether differently here "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" has blessed us where Christ is on high. 2As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(A) 2in which you used to live(B) when you followed the ways of this world(C) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(D) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. If we are alive unto God, every part of our worship should be living. . No matter whether Jews or Gentiles, principalities or powers, every family is derived from this universal source of existence "One God and Father of all, who is above all [there we find His supremacy], and through all [there we find His permeance, if one may so say, as the support, of the whole universe], and in you all" [His intimacy with the saints]. Oh, do not so! Everybody is doing it." That awareness of God, that communion with God, or that fellowship and oneness that God intended that man should have with God. 17He came and preached peace(AL) to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. "He hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together." The child has a thousand things to ask; it has to learn everything. That would cease, for God is a Spirit, they that worship Him worship Him in Spirit and in truth. This; not only that we hear of the one body, and that saints compose this body, but that a new man is seen. But in Ephesians God cannot but have us imitate His own ways as they have shone in Christ. They are clearly identified in each blog post. Do not the tears rain on her, as if they would sow the seeds of life in that dead earth again? These good things are Gods plan for the way that we live our lives. There is not even the gloss of life left. Even today, he continually seeks to be worshipped. And God was almost a boogieman to us. He means far more than sexual sins. (iii) The Gentiles were aliens from the society of Israel. I told you just now that the life which the Holy Spirit gives us when we are born again, is the life of God. In this first part, Paul writes about humanitys reconciliation with God. Gideon went out and faced his troops and said, "All right, all of you that are afraid to go to battle, you can go on home." There will never be a time when God doesn't love you. Hence it was that they might "be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and. I know it on the best authority, and the truest, too. Does he try to make life easier for his wife? All those who are in their sins, are dead in sins; yea, in trespasses and sins, which may signify all sorts of sins, habitual and actual, sins of heart and of life. The man who is under their domination has taken sides against God. Have we reached the goal of service to others that we might have reached? height; and to know the love of Christ." Clearly God has a purpose, a settled and glorious plan to gather the whole universe under Christ as its Head. What did he mean? [Note: Stott, p. "But God, rich in His mercy, in His love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins." You say, "Well, I believe God. Our present position is this, first, that we are raised from the dead. The essence of the worldly man is, as someone has said, that "he knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." Following the crowd, following the course of the world. He always comes back to that theme. Good works cannot earn them salvation, but once they are saved their lives should be full of good works. I trust you will understand what I wish to convey that the death is the same in all cases; but the manifestations of it is different; and that the life must come from God, and from God alone. But Biblical Christianity probes the patient to the quick. All men, being naturally children of disobedience, are also by nature children of wrath: God is angry with the wicked every day. Were ripping off the crops from the children of Israel, they were hiding their food in caves and all. Submissions: I am so grateful to those of you who send me your own material to post! They, and only they, have "one Spirit" dwelling in them. If but two acted accordingly, they ought to be and would be an expression of the unity of the Spirit. There is bondage. Had He brought the Gentiles into the place that Israel once occupied? You! Was there not positive love, far beyond forgiveness? If you don't, your wife does. He has not come to God consciously. Can I belong just for who I am? The panoply is against Satan and not God. The re:Worship survey on pandemic worship practices has been completed. (AI) His purpose was to create in himself one(AJ) new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,(AK) by which he put to death their hostility. All through these then we have, but more particularly in the first, the interweaving of the duty with the manifestation of God's grace: "Christ also loved the church." That peace is won at the price of his blood, for the great awakener of love is the Cross. And as for Lazarus, he is shut up with a stone. ), Someone can be physically alive and yet spiritually dead at the same time. Here are some indexes that might be helpful: INDEXES: For a complete list of all the indexes on this blog, click here. They had a distinguished place before the Son became man. Impossible that the Head should not be there as well as the body; and the apostle speaks as to Christ yet more than as to the assembly. (AP), 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,(AQ) but fellow citizens(AR) with Gods people and also members of his household,(AS) 20built(AT) on the foundation(AU) of the apostles and prophets,(AV) with Christ Jesus himself(AW) as the chief cornerstone. 10. "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Man may cavil and murmur now in unbelief; but God will vindicate them every one when man shall be silent for ever. The law or "mark" in this context is the righteous will of God. Such is, in fact, the condition of a sinful world. 4. When the father sees the son, he can see the haughty spirit has been replaced by humility (Luke 15:20; Matthew 6:8). Unto Good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Who is delighted when He sees you happy and joyful. in the lust of our flesh, as we were fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; as we were by nature the children of wrath, even as the others ( Ephesians 2:3 ). It cannot have escaped observation that there are two great parts in that which has come before us. "Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ hath forgiven you." It is told that in the congregation in Edinburgh to which George Matheson came there was an old woman who lived in a cellar in filthy conditions. It is only his love in Christ which has forgiven men who deserved nothing but punishment from him, men who had grieved his love and broken his law. Jesus came to tell men that they cannot earn God's approbation by a keeping of the ceremonial law but must accept the forgiveness and fellowship which God in mercy freely offers them. The flesh is anything in us which gives sin its chance; it is human nature without God. That which comforted his soul was Christ in heavenly glory far above all things. Oh how happy is the man. But then the possession of a nature capable of communing with God did not and could not satisfy. [Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2080, "All I Need Is You", offer the following call to worship] L: Place your trust in the Lord. P: Cast away those things which detract from your faith in God. L: God will provide for all your needs. P: The love of Jesus Christ and his witness strengthens and sustains us. ALL: AMEN! What does that mean? Everybody is doing it, get on board.When I was a small fellow I used to often ask my mother if I could go a certain place. Even after all our efforts we still so often feel that we have not done enough. If there be a spiritual death, and you are dead, be startled; for within a little while God will say, "Bury my dead out of my sight." Accelerating into traffic, I looked up and saw a billboard with 6 words, 2 sentences, 1 sign of an imploding culture in two foot high letters. to you who were far off and to you who were near. The design of the apostle in this and some following verses, is to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and to set forth the sad estate and condition of man by nature, and to magnify the riches of the grace of God, and represent the exceeding greatness of his power in conversion: the phrase. No; the first thing he did was, he put his hand, not on him, mark you, but on the bier ; "and they that bare it stood still." I might be stumbling onto a phenomena of nature that I don't understand. Visit that site for many other excellent lectionary-based worship resources. Its construction was very elegant; upon it stood pillars at equal distances from one another, declaring the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters that no foreigner should go within the sanctuary" (The Wars of the Jews, 5, 5, 2). Scripturally-based resources for worship planners and leaders. Reader 1 Christ came and proclaimed peace. I do not think that a living man can always pray by clockwork, at such a time and such a time. The other word Paul uses, translated trespasses is paraptoma ( G3900) . The consequence is that we find the Spirit of God, now sent down from heaven, not only putting the saints into relationship with the Father, but, besides, dwelling in them and making them God's habitation through the Spirit. Not think that a living man can always pray by clockwork, at such a.... Easier for his wife or `` mark '' in this first part, Paul writes about humanitys reconciliation with did! 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