Sit, Walk, Stand

Ephesians 2:4-6

Many times in our Christian walk, we speak of resting in the Lord as if it is something that we should do after we are completely exhausted from the cares of this life. It is made to sound as if we finally sit down and take our ease in Christ only after we have worked sufficiently for Him in one capacity or the other. The order usually goes something like this: Stand up for the Lord in front of the world and take the blows; then walk softly before God and stay on the straight and narrow; and finally, someday, when it is all said and done, we will sit together with Him in heaven. Paul paints quite a different picture.

The order of events, according to the Apostle Paul, is designed by the Holy Spirit, for nothing happens in the Word by chance. Paul shows us what I call the “2-4-6” method of Christian experience. Watch it unfold:

Sit – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:6).

Walk – “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1).

Stand – “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11).

We actually start out defeated and beaten somewhere on the road of life, and then Jesus “raised us up together” (2:6). This is a type of our salvation experience, where the Good Samaritan cares for us along life’s highway. The first thing that He does is sit us next to Jesus. The starting point for every believer is resting next to the Master. Only when we have learned to rest with Him in His finished work are we qualified to “walk worthy” (4:1).

The “walk” is now made easier because we are accustomed to being so close to Him in proximity. You need not fear that you are going to wander off of the “straight and narrow”. Even if you do go down into a valley of the shadow of death, your Shepherd will enter it with you, and He will not abandon you in the midst.

Once we have placed our daily walk in the Lord, we are ready to stand when the enemy begins his attack. Interestingly enough, there is no mention here of the believer fighting back. Some have preached sermons on spiritual warfare, calling for militant Christians to “attack the devil”. Paul tells the believer to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (6:10), showing us that all of the battle belongs to the Lord and none of it belongs to us.

In Christ, He does the fighting and we get the victory. What a Savior! While we certainly wrestle (6:12), when it comes to the attack of the enemy, we simply stand there, while Christ takes care of us (6:13, 14). Consequently, the Holy Spirit is careful to let us know that we will stand in the “evil day”. Note that it is singular, for whatever bad comes our way, it is temporary. When God blesses the believer, it is always with “good days”, used in the plural, for they will last for all time (1 Peter 3:10).

A Guaranteed Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-14

Paul told the church at Ephesus, and thus he is telling us, that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and all of it according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7). Paul believed in making the grace of God sound rich, as opposed to ‘just enough’. While some preach a grace that is only as good as your last sin, Paul preached a radical grace that covers all of your sins and encompasses the fullness of God’s goodness.

Because of rich grace, we have further obtained an inheritance. This inheritance is a guarantee, since Paul says that we “have obtained”. That phrase is odd to us if we are convinced that we are unworthy. If we are convinced of that, then we feel that we cannot possibly receive anything from the Lord, for we have not earned it. However, Paul’s message of grace was to inform us that the sins were forgiven and we were redeemed. If we believe that, then we can believe that the inheritance is ours!

As soon as you believed on Jesus Christ, “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Just as a seal is placed on a jar to keep the goods secure inside, the Holy Spirit is sealing us to keep our righteousness safe inside of our hearts. That can is also sealed to keep the elements out of the goods, so that they retain their taste. The Holy Spirit is in us to seal us off from the tainted wickedness of this world. No matter what the believer goes through, there is nothing that can break through that seal. You can neither lose your righteousness, nor have the curse placed upon you, for the Holy Spirit is tireless in watching over you.

Paul concludes the thought with this statement, “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14). The ‘which is’ refers back to the previous verse, pointing to the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Spirit is the “earnest of our inheritance”. Unfortunately, the word ‘earnest’ doesn’t tell us much in our English translation, but in the Greek, of which the New Testament was originally written; it refers to a ‘down-payment’. Paul is telling us that the seal of the Spirit in our hearts is the down-payment on our inheritance. We may not see all of the inheritance now, but we have Holy Ghost earnest money laid down on it, so we are guaranteed that it is ours.

He says it again to the church at Corinth:

“Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us , and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22).

He also speaks of the inheritance to the church at Rome, assuring them that they will receive it, not because of their works or abilities but because they have entered into Christ, and they have the Holy Spirit in them. Look at what He does in us according to these verses, and how it assures our inheritance:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16, 17)

You have the down-payment of the Spirit in your heart, and the guarantee of a heavenly inheritance. Rejoice in your salvation, and thank God for your joint-heir!

Redeemed: How I Love To Proclaim It

Ephesians 1:7

Paul opens this wonderful letter to the church at Ephesus with a most blessed description of what Jesus means to the believer. He tells us in verse 5 that God has adopted us to himself by Jesus Christ, showing forth the mighty power of His grace, accepting us in His beloved Son (verse 6). This means that as believers, we are as accepted in the eyes of God as is Jesus, His beloved one. This is great news!

Through the shed blood of Jesus, we have redemption, meaning that we have been bought off of the slave block of sin. This doctrine of redemption is the New Testament doctrine, and literally means, “to deliver by paying a price”. Actually, there are three Greek words used in the New Testament which all mean “redemption”.

The first word is “agorazo” which means, “to purchase in the market”. This is why I stated that redemption bought us off of the slave block of sin. Christ’s blood took us off the market, as we were “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

The second word is “exagorazo”, “to buy out of the market”. This denotes that not only did Jesus buy us from the slavery of sin with His blood, but we have been removed from circulation, assuring us that we will not be slaves to sin ever again.

Finally, the word redemption is rendered “lutroo”, meaning, “to loose”, or “to set free by paying a price”. This shows us that we are purchased from sin, with no chance of being sold back and then we are set free to live our lives in total liberty. This final step is what makes the Christian walk one of absolute beauty. The Holy Spirit in our life brings liberty to live in abundance.

Redemption provides “forgiveness of sins”. All of your sins, past, present and future have been taken care of in the body of Jesus at Calvary. You are no longer viewed as guilty, and you never again can be. Only God’s rich grace can provide such a promise, for only with grace can great things be granted with no payment expected in return.

Consequently, did you notice the term “accepted in the beloved” in the previous verse (Ephesians 1:6)? That is one of two times that the Greek word ‘kharetoo’ is used, which means “highly favored”. The other time is when the angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary that she is “highly favored among women” (Luke 1:28). This promise is for all who have accepted Jesus as Savior; you are “highly favored” by God!

Do not feel that you owe God today, for Jesus has already paid your debt for sin and righteousness. This gift of abundant grace is yours for the taking. Allow that grace to minister to you of who Christ is and how He wants to live through you. Don’t worry about sin anymore, as the Holy Spirit in you will render sin and its dominion, obsolete (Romans 6:14).

Go in God’s rich grace today, knowing that you are free in Jesus.

No Place for the Devil

Ephesians 4:26, 27

These two verses in Ephesians offer a prime example of the writing style of the Apostle Paul. He introduces a topic, in this case “Be ye angry, and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26), and then he proceeds to explain that topic with the usage of a colon. The colon is followed by “let not the sun go down on your wrath” which ends with another colon, meaning the thought is being furthered. The thought is completed in the next verse with “Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Each thought leads to the next, with each following statement giving fuller definition to the one that preceded it.

In this case, we have three distinct statements, each furthering the topic. We find that anger is okay, as long as it does not lead to sin. How can it lead to sin? If the sun goes down on our wrath, then our anger has set in without us dealing with the source of it, thus the seed of sin has begun. These two lead to the terrible third statement, that we have now given place to the devil. Note the progression: we are angry and rather than resolve it, we let it fester inside of us which gives the devil an advantage in our life.

Of larger concern than how to overcome anger is the fact that this text shows us that believers can “give place to the devil”. If place can be given, it denotes that Satan currently occupies no place in our life, and that any place that he has must have been given to him by the believer. Remember that Satan is a defeated foe, and he has been defeated at the cross. If he is operating in different areas of our life, it is not because he is all-powerful; it is because he has been given all-access by you and me.

When we allow resentment and unforgiveness; or any other problem for that matter, to stir inside of our hearts, we are giving the enemy a place to stand in our life. Jesus told the church that we have the power to bind and to release. Whatever we bind on this earth is also bound in heaven (Matthew 16:19), which means that if we are bound by anger or jealousy or whatever, then heaven is bound from moving with authority in our lives.

This in no way puts works back into our righteousness, for we are righteous whether we are bound or not! This does, however, place a responsibility on the believer to allow grace to work in every area of their life if they are going to experience freedom and power. When we feed our anger or resentments, we are keeping ourselves bound to others and we are binding them from freedom as well. Jesus gave us the power to free people from their guilt or to set them free, and that includes ourselves:

“Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23).

Let’s not let Satan have an advantage over us, for we are not ignorant of the way he works (2 Corinthians 2:11).

The Walk of the Believer

Ephesians 4:17-25

Even though the Apostle Paul was a preacher of radical grace, he in no way endorsed sinful lifestyles or failure on the part of believers. He was accused of this sort of doctrine however, as he tells us in Romans 3:8, “…we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, ‘Let us do evil, that good may come’…” However, Paul’s approach towards getting believers to live right was different than what many people then, and just as many now, tend to use. He felt that an introduction of law preaching and teaching into believer’s lives would cause sin to revive in them (Romans 7:9). It is for this cause that when Paul wanted to emphasize a lifestyle problem in his churches, he introduced a different tactic.

Paul maintained that believers were already complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), but that their minds were lagging behind their hearts. He felt that if a believer thought like a believer, he would live like one, but if he thought like a sinner, then he would see sin take root. He told the church at Ephesus to “walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind” (Ephesians 4:17). Sinners walk according to a mind “void of truth” which is what “vanity” means in Greek. They have their “understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18). Again, Paul is showing the saints that in many ways they are acting like sinners through their lifestyles. Now, he appeals to who they truly are:

“But ye have not so learned Christ” (Ephesians 4:20).

With this statement, Paul introduces a three-fold plan for the believer to live right:

1. Put off the old man and the way he lived, which was according to his lusts and desires (verse 22).

2. Renew the way they think, concentrating on who Jesus is in them (verse 23).

3. Put on the righteousness of God which is Jesus Christ (verse 24).

When you do these things, it will lead you to live right which is why the next verses begin to give instruction on not lying, not letting our anger get the best of us, not allowing Satan a foot hold in our life, not stealing, etc. Why doesn’t he just say, “Thou shalt not lie”, or “Thou shalt not steal”? Surely that would be easier, right? That would be Old Covenant preaching, and Paul is better than that. Instead, he appeals to who you are in Christ, and convinces you to change how you think of yourself. When we do this, we put away lying and stealing and everything else because we stop thinking like sinners and start thinking like the sons which we are.

Go in God’s wonderful grace and mercy today, putting off who you used to be by knowing who Jesus has made you to be. Renew your mind on His wonderful finished work. Stop thinking like you thought as a sinner and see your heavenly Father as well pleased with you, His adopted son or daughter.

Jesus Descended First

Ephesians 4:7-11

When Jesus ascended into heaven, following His Passion on this earth, he “led captivity captive” and then “gave gifts unto men”. The five-fold ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are from God, through the finished work of Jesus, to provide for the newly founded church. It is the action of leading the captivity captive that shows us volumes about Jesus’ accomplishment at Calvary.

Jesus told us that hell consisted of both flames for the sinner and Abraham’s bosom for the saint (Luke 16:22). Prior to the cross, no man could enter into heaven for their sins had not yet been taken away, only covered by countless lambs and bulls. Since these sacrifices could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4), the saints that died went to a paradise, waiting the shedding of the blood of the Lamb, which would take away the sin of the world.

When Jesus died, He descended in spirit into the lower parts of the earth (Ephesians 4:9). While there, He preached deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18), taking them out of this Paradise and leading them to the Father, the access which had been paid for by His blood. All men that exhibited faith in God prior to the cross were actually looking forward by their faith to that cross, accepting the blood of Jesus as the washing away of their sins. Jesus’ death then brought fulfillment to their faith, becoming a truly finished work.

After descending into the earth, Jesus then ascended far above all heavens, “that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). The only way that Christ could fill all things is if He has first “fulfilled” all things, and the cross was the complete fulfillment of God’s plan for man’s redemption. By then pouring gifts, in the form of the five-fold ministry, into the church, Jesus has filled us with all that we need for growth and development.

It is beautiful to know that no one was left out by the finished work of the cross. Those who had died prior to the cross were covered by the descent of Jesus into the heart of the earth, while those who lived after the cross had just been paid for by the shed blood of the lamb. Those in Paradise were escorted to heaven to live forever with the Lord, while those of us left on this earth have the resurrection of Jesus, which allows the Holy Spirit to live His life through us. We are both provided for, and that through what Christ has accomplished.

The finished work of Christ is that which fills all things. You are who you are in the Lord because the work of the cross was so complete. The gifts that Jesus paid for are “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). This shows us that though the cross is a finished work, it is still finishing the work in us. We are constantly being molded and shaped into the very likeness and image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Glory to God for His perfect payment for you, by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Your past, present and future have been atoned for by His perfect work.

Saved by Faith

Ephesians 2:8

We are saved by grace, but why does God use the means of faith? Could He not have used hope or love, or any other thing? Of course He could have used anything that He wanted, but He chose to allow grace to operate only upon man showing faith. God's redemption is more powerful than anything that man can imagine, but it is powerless without man's faith going to work.

Faith is that which takes from God. God does not need to exhibit faith in man, for God does not take from man; rather God loves us, for love is a giver. Just as our hand reaches out to grasp something, our faith reaches out to grasp God's grace. We don't receive that something with our foot or with our head, but rather with that which God designed to be our receiver, our hand. Faith is the hand, and grace is the gift.

Faith cannot brag of itself, for it is merely the means of reception. We don't boast that we have "great faith" or that our faith is better placed than those around us. That is as absurd as someone reaching our and taking a gift and then bragging that their hand receives better than everyone else's hand. That which is worth boasting of is the finished work of Jesus Christ, which comes to all who believe on Jesus. There are no works that we can do to make this salvation better or to make ourselves more righteous, thus there is no room for us to feel better about our faith.

Remember, it was faith that Jesus honored when He was on this earth, and that faith did not have to be great. With the centurion, it was "great faith", while with the disciples it was "little faith". Both received what they needed, so it is obvious that great faith does not give you better things and little faith gives you little things. Great faith is a great ability to receive, while little faith takes little. We need increased faith, not so that we can get more things or feel better about our spirituality, but so we can take with that hand of faith all that God has to offer His children.

I once read a great example of faith from the great preacher Charles Spurgeon. He told of a ship that capsized above Niagara Falls and two men were thrown overboard. People along the bank floated a rope out to the men, and both grabbed hold of it. One of the men held on to the rope and was safely pulled to the shore, while the other man saw a log floating by which he grabbed and jumped on top of. It was large and allowed him to move freely, but it soon plunged over the edge of the falls for it had nothing to connect it to the shore. Though it was bigger and looked more stable than a flimsy rope, the log was useless, while the rope provided life. Such is everyone that trusts their works to save them, for there is nothing connecting them to Christ.

Your faith may feel weak and hopeless, but it is the rope that binds you to your Savior on the shore. Don't trust in you or your abilities to save you, let the hand of faith bring God's grace to work for you each and every day.

Comprehend His Love For You

Ephesians 3:14-21

When I began to realize the Father’s unconditional, unmatched love for me, I found loving those around me very easy. In fact, when I comprehended His love for me, loving others became absolutely effortless. My prayer now, is that every believer will realize the Lord’s love for them. This knowledge teaches us how to love, for “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Paul shared a similar desire for the church at Ephesus, stating, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:14). What is the cause for Paul praying for Ephesus? We find out in the verses that follow, namely that they, “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18, 19). Paul is praying that they comprehend just how great that the love of Christ is toward them. What a prayer!

Satan fights the believer from gaining this particular knowledge as much as anything else that he does. When Jesus overcame the devil in the wilderness, He did it by every word that proceeded from the mouth of His Father, and the last words of His Father were, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Satan immediately questions whether or not Jesus is the Son of God, and he noticeably drops the word “beloved” (Matthew 4:3). He never wants you to remember how much the Father loves you, and the Father wants you to never forget it.

Christ’s love surpasses our ability to comprehend because it is higher, deeper, longer and wider than our ability to love. A revelation of His love for us expands our ability to love others, thus causing us to fulfill His command to love. The scripture further explains that when we know the love of Christ, we will “be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19).

All that God is; His wisdom, His goodness, etc, will fill the believer that understands how loved that they are. This is why it is so beautiful that the Apostle John repeatedly refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved in the book of John. It does not mean that Jesus loved him more than anyone else, but that John recognized how loved that he was. God loves you know more or less than He loves anyone else, but you should recognize his love for you and you will walk in His benefits.

If you ask a sinner if they know that God loves them, many of them will respond, “Oh yeah, God loves everyone”. They are right, but with that limited comprehension of God’s love, they do not see how personal that His love is. God’s love must be aimed at them, or they cannot know its full benefits. It is like pointing a magnifying glass at a blade of grass. If you hold the beam of concentrated sunlight on the blade long enough, it will catch fire. The sun’s rays were shining on it before, but it was falling equally on all blades around it. Isolate the beam, burn the blade. Isolate the love of God to one sinner instead of for the whole world; you burn away the chaff of self-righteousness and doubt.

May you be able to comprehend the amount of God’s love for you today. That is my prayer for each of you as you go into this world. Accept that love and spread it to someone else.

Sit, Walk, Stand

Ephesians 2:4-6

Many times in our Christian walk, we speak of resting in the Lord as if it is something that we should do after we are completely exhausted from the cares of this life. It is made to sound as if we finally sit down and take our ease in Christ only after we have worked sufficiently for Him in one capacity or the other. The order usually goes something like this: Stand up for the Lord in front of the world and take the blows; then walk softly before God and stay on the straight and narrow; and finally, someday, when it is all said and done, we will sit together with Him in heaven. Paul paints quite a different picture.

The order of events, according to the Apostle Paul, is designed by the Holy Spirit, for nothing happens in the Word by chance. Paul shows us what I call the “2-4-6” method of Christian experience. Watch it unfold:

Sit – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:6).

Walk – “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1).

Stand – “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11).

We actually start out defeated and beaten somewhere on the road of life, and then Jesus “raised us up together” (2:6). This is a type of our salvation experience, where the Good Samaritan cares for us along life’s highway. The first thing that He does is sit us next to Jesus. The starting point for every believer is resting next to the Master. Only when we have learned to rest with Him in His finished work are we qualified to “walk worthy” (4:1).

The “walk” is now made easier because we are accustomed to being so close to Him in proximity. You need not fear that you are going to wander off of the “straight and narrow”. Even if you do go down into a valley of the shadow of death, your Shepherd will enter it with you, and He will not abandon you in the midst.

Once we have placed our daily walk in the Lord, we are ready to stand when the enemy begins his attack. Interestingly enough, there is no mention here of the believer fighting back. Some have preached sermons on spiritual warfare, calling for militant Christians to “attack the devil”. Paul tells the believer to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (6:10), showing us that all of the battle belongs to the Lord and none of it belongs to us.

In Christ, He does the fighting and we get the victory. What a Savior! While we certainly wrestle (6:12), when it comes to the attack of the enemy, we simply stand there, while Christ takes care of us (6:13, 14). Consequently, the Holy Spirit is careful to let us know that we will stand in the “evil day”. Note that it is singular, for whatever bad comes our way, it is temporary. When God blesses the believer, it is always with “good days”, used in the plural, for they will last for all time (1 Peter 3:10).

A Guaranteed Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-14

Paul told the church at Ephesus, and thus he is telling us, that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and all of it according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7). Paul believed in making the grace of God sound rich, as opposed to ‘just enough’. While some preach a grace that is only as good as your last sin, Paul preached a radical grace that covers all of your sins and encompasses the fullness of God’s goodness.

Because of rich grace, we have further obtained an inheritance. This inheritance is a guarantee, since Paul says that we “have obtained”. That phrase is odd to us if we are convinced that we are unworthy. If we are convinced of that, then we feel that we cannot possibly receive anything from the Lord, for we have not earned it. However, Paul’s message of grace was to inform us that the sins were forgiven and we were redeemed. If we believe that, then we can believe that the inheritance is ours!

As soon as you believed on Jesus Christ, “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Just as a seal is placed on a jar to keep the goods secure inside, the Holy Spirit is sealing us to keep our righteousness safe inside of our hearts. That can is also sealed to keep the elements out of the goods, so that they retain their taste. The Holy Spirit is in us to seal us off from the tainted wickedness of this world. No matter what the believer goes through, there is nothing that can break through that seal. You can neither lose your righteousness, nor have the curse placed upon you, for the Holy Spirit is tireless in watching over you.

Paul concludes the thought with this statement, “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14). The ‘which is’ refers back to the previous verse, pointing to the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Spirit is the “earnest of our inheritance”. Unfortunately, the word ‘earnest’ doesn’t tell us much in our English translation, but in the Greek, of which the New Testament was originally written; it refers to a ‘down-payment’. Paul is telling us that the seal of the Spirit in our hearts is the down-payment on our inheritance. We may not see all of the inheritance now, but we have Holy Ghost earnest money laid down on it, so we are guaranteed that it is ours.

He says it again to the church at Corinth:

“Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us , and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22).

He also speaks of the inheritance to the church at Rome, assuring them that they will receive it, not because of their works or abilities but because they have entered into Christ, and they have the Holy Spirit in them. Look at what He does in us according to these verses, and how it assures our inheritance:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16, 17)

You have the down-payment of the Spirit in your heart, and the guarantee of a heavenly inheritance. Rejoice in your salvation, and thank God for your joint-heir!

Redeemed: How I Love To Proclaim It

Ephesians 1:7

Paul opens this wonderful letter to the church at Ephesus with a most blessed description of what Jesus means to the believer. He tells us in verse 5 that God has adopted us to himself by Jesus Christ, showing forth the mighty power of His grace, accepting us in His beloved Son (verse 6). This means that as believers, we are as accepted in the eyes of God as is Jesus, His beloved one. This is great news!

Through the shed blood of Jesus, we have redemption, meaning that we have been bought off of the slave block of sin. This doctrine of redemption is the New Testament doctrine, and literally means, “to deliver by paying a price”. Actually, there are three Greek words used in the New Testament which all mean “redemption”.

The first word is “agorazo” which means, “to purchase in the market”. This is why I stated that redemption bought us off of the slave block of sin. Christ’s blood took us off the market, as we were “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

The second word is “exagorazo”, “to buy out of the market”. This denotes that not only did Jesus buy us from the slavery of sin with His blood, but we have been removed from circulation, assuring us that we will not be slaves to sin ever again.

Finally, the word redemption is rendered “lutroo”, meaning, “to loose”, or “to set free by paying a price”. This shows us that we are purchased from sin, with no chance of being sold back and then we are set free to live our lives in total liberty. This final step is what makes the Christian walk one of absolute beauty. The Holy Spirit in our life brings liberty to live in abundance.

Redemption provides “forgiveness of sins”. All of your sins, past, present and future have been taken care of in the body of Jesus at Calvary. You are no longer viewed as guilty, and you never again can be. Only God’s rich grace can provide such a promise, for only with grace can great things be granted with no payment expected in return.

Consequently, did you notice the term “accepted in the beloved” in the previous verse (Ephesians 1:6)? That is one of two times that the Greek word ‘kharetoo’ is used, which means “highly favored”. The other time is when the angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary that she is “highly favored among women” (Luke 1:28). This promise is for all who have accepted Jesus as Savior; you are “highly favored” by God!

Do not feel that you owe God today, for Jesus has already paid your debt for sin and righteousness. This gift of abundant grace is yours for the taking. Allow that grace to minister to you of who Christ is and how He wants to live through you. Don’t worry about sin anymore, as the Holy Spirit in you will render sin and its dominion, obsolete (Romans 6:14).

Go in God’s rich grace today, knowing that you are free in Jesus.

No Place for the Devil

Ephesians 4:26, 27

These two verses in Ephesians offer a prime example of the writing style of the Apostle Paul. He introduces a topic, in this case “Be ye angry, and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26), and then he proceeds to explain that topic with the usage of a colon. The colon is followed by “let not the sun go down on your wrath” which ends with another colon, meaning the thought is being furthered. The thought is completed in the next verse with “Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Each thought leads to the next, with each following statement giving fuller definition to the one that preceded it.

In this case, we have three distinct statements, each furthering the topic. We find that anger is okay, as long as it does not lead to sin. How can it lead to sin? If the sun goes down on our wrath, then our anger has set in without us dealing with the source of it, thus the seed of sin has begun. These two lead to the terrible third statement, that we have now given place to the devil. Note the progression: we are angry and rather than resolve it, we let it fester inside of us which gives the devil an advantage in our life.

Of larger concern than how to overcome anger is the fact that this text shows us that believers can “give place to the devil”. If place can be given, it denotes that Satan currently occupies no place in our life, and that any place that he has must have been given to him by the believer. Remember that Satan is a defeated foe, and he has been defeated at the cross. If he is operating in different areas of our life, it is not because he is all-powerful; it is because he has been given all-access by you and me.

When we allow resentment and unforgiveness; or any other problem for that matter, to stir inside of our hearts, we are giving the enemy a place to stand in our life. Jesus told the church that we have the power to bind and to release. Whatever we bind on this earth is also bound in heaven (Matthew 16:19), which means that if we are bound by anger or jealousy or whatever, then heaven is bound from moving with authority in our lives.

This in no way puts works back into our righteousness, for we are righteous whether we are bound or not! This does, however, place a responsibility on the believer to allow grace to work in every area of their life if they are going to experience freedom and power. When we feed our anger or resentments, we are keeping ourselves bound to others and we are binding them from freedom as well. Jesus gave us the power to free people from their guilt or to set them free, and that includes ourselves:

“Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23).

Let’s not let Satan have an advantage over us, for we are not ignorant of the way he works (2 Corinthians 2:11).

The Walk of the Believer

Ephesians 4:17-25

Even though the Apostle Paul was a preacher of radical grace, he in no way endorsed sinful lifestyles or failure on the part of believers. He was accused of this sort of doctrine however, as he tells us in Romans 3:8, “…we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, ‘Let us do evil, that good may come’…” However, Paul’s approach towards getting believers to live right was different than what many people then, and just as many now, tend to use. He felt that an introduction of law preaching and teaching into believer’s lives would cause sin to revive in them (Romans 7:9). It is for this cause that when Paul wanted to emphasize a lifestyle problem in his churches, he introduced a different tactic.

Paul maintained that believers were already complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), but that their minds were lagging behind their hearts. He felt that if a believer thought like a believer, he would live like one, but if he thought like a sinner, then he would see sin take root. He told the church at Ephesus to “walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind” (Ephesians 4:17). Sinners walk according to a mind “void of truth” which is what “vanity” means in Greek. They have their “understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18). Again, Paul is showing the saints that in many ways they are acting like sinners through their lifestyles. Now, he appeals to who they truly are:

“But ye have not so learned Christ” (Ephesians 4:20).

With this statement, Paul introduces a three-fold plan for the believer to live right:

1. Put off the old man and the way he lived, which was according to his lusts and desires (verse 22).

2. Renew the way they think, concentrating on who Jesus is in them (verse 23).

3. Put on the righteousness of God which is Jesus Christ (verse 24).

When you do these things, it will lead you to live right which is why the next verses begin to give instruction on not lying, not letting our anger get the best of us, not allowing Satan a foot hold in our life, not stealing, etc. Why doesn’t he just say, “Thou shalt not lie”, or “Thou shalt not steal”? Surely that would be easier, right? That would be Old Covenant preaching, and Paul is better than that. Instead, he appeals to who you are in Christ, and convinces you to change how you think of yourself. When we do this, we put away lying and stealing and everything else because we stop thinking like sinners and start thinking like the sons which we are.

Go in God’s wonderful grace and mercy today, putting off who you used to be by knowing who Jesus has made you to be. Renew your mind on His wonderful finished work. Stop thinking like you thought as a sinner and see your heavenly Father as well pleased with you, His adopted son or daughter.

Jesus Descended First

Ephesians 4:7-11

When Jesus ascended into heaven, following His Passion on this earth, he “led captivity captive” and then “gave gifts unto men”. The five-fold ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are from God, through the finished work of Jesus, to provide for the newly founded church. It is the action of leading the captivity captive that shows us volumes about Jesus’ accomplishment at Calvary.

Jesus told us that hell consisted of both flames for the sinner and Abraham’s bosom for the saint (Luke 16:22). Prior to the cross, no man could enter into heaven for their sins had not yet been taken away, only covered by countless lambs and bulls. Since these sacrifices could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4), the saints that died went to a paradise, waiting the shedding of the blood of the Lamb, which would take away the sin of the world.

When Jesus died, He descended in spirit into the lower parts of the earth (Ephesians 4:9). While there, He preached deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18), taking them out of this Paradise and leading them to the Father, the access which had been paid for by His blood. All men that exhibited faith in God prior to the cross were actually looking forward by their faith to that cross, accepting the blood of Jesus as the washing away of their sins. Jesus’ death then brought fulfillment to their faith, becoming a truly finished work.

After descending into the earth, Jesus then ascended far above all heavens, “that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). The only way that Christ could fill all things is if He has first “fulfilled” all things, and the cross was the complete fulfillment of God’s plan for man’s redemption. By then pouring gifts, in the form of the five-fold ministry, into the church, Jesus has filled us with all that we need for growth and development.

It is beautiful to know that no one was left out by the finished work of the cross. Those who had died prior to the cross were covered by the descent of Jesus into the heart of the earth, while those who lived after the cross had just been paid for by the shed blood of the lamb. Those in Paradise were escorted to heaven to live forever with the Lord, while those of us left on this earth have the resurrection of Jesus, which allows the Holy Spirit to live His life through us. We are both provided for, and that through what Christ has accomplished.

The finished work of Christ is that which fills all things. You are who you are in the Lord because the work of the cross was so complete. The gifts that Jesus paid for are “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). This shows us that though the cross is a finished work, it is still finishing the work in us. We are constantly being molded and shaped into the very likeness and image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Glory to God for His perfect payment for you, by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Your past, present and future have been atoned for by His perfect work.

Saved by Faith

Ephesians 2:8

We are saved by grace, but why does God use the means of faith? Could He not have used hope or love, or any other thing? Of course He could have used anything that He wanted, but He chose to allow grace to operate only upon man showing faith. God's redemption is more powerful than anything that man can imagine, but it is powerless without man's faith going to work.

Faith is that which takes from God. God does not need to exhibit faith in man, for God does not take from man; rather God loves us, for love is a giver. Just as our hand reaches out to grasp something, our faith reaches out to grasp God's grace. We don't receive that something with our foot or with our head, but rather with that which God designed to be our receiver, our hand. Faith is the hand, and grace is the gift.

Faith cannot brag of itself, for it is merely the means of reception. We don't boast that we have "great faith" or that our faith is better placed than those around us. That is as absurd as someone reaching our and taking a gift and then bragging that their hand receives better than everyone else's hand. That which is worth boasting of is the finished work of Jesus Christ, which comes to all who believe on Jesus. There are no works that we can do to make this salvation better or to make ourselves more righteous, thus there is no room for us to feel better about our faith.

Remember, it was faith that Jesus honored when He was on this earth, and that faith did not have to be great. With the centurion, it was "great faith", while with the disciples it was "little faith". Both received what they needed, so it is obvious that great faith does not give you better things and little faith gives you little things. Great faith is a great ability to receive, while little faith takes little. We need increased faith, not so that we can get more things or feel better about our spirituality, but so we can take with that hand of faith all that God has to offer His children.

I once read a great example of faith from the great preacher Charles Spurgeon. He told of a ship that capsized above Niagara Falls and two men were thrown overboard. People along the bank floated a rope out to the men, and both grabbed hold of it. One of the men held on to the rope and was safely pulled to the shore, while the other man saw a log floating by which he grabbed and jumped on top of. It was large and allowed him to move freely, but it soon plunged over the edge of the falls for it had nothing to connect it to the shore. Though it was bigger and looked more stable than a flimsy rope, the log was useless, while the rope provided life. Such is everyone that trusts their works to save them, for there is nothing connecting them to Christ.

Your faith may feel weak and hopeless, but it is the rope that binds you to your Savior on the shore. Don't trust in you or your abilities to save you, let the hand of faith bring God's grace to work for you each and every day.

Comprehend His Love For You

Ephesians 3:14-21

When I began to realize the Father’s unconditional, unmatched love for me, I found loving those around me very easy. In fact, when I comprehended His love for me, loving others became absolutely effortless. My prayer now, is that every believer will realize the Lord’s love for them. This knowledge teaches us how to love, for “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Paul shared a similar desire for the church at Ephesus, stating, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:14). What is the cause for Paul praying for Ephesus? We find out in the verses that follow, namely that they, “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18, 19). Paul is praying that they comprehend just how great that the love of Christ is toward them. What a prayer!

Satan fights the believer from gaining this particular knowledge as much as anything else that he does. When Jesus overcame the devil in the wilderness, He did it by every word that proceeded from the mouth of His Father, and the last words of His Father were, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Satan immediately questions whether or not Jesus is the Son of God, and he noticeably drops the word “beloved” (Matthew 4:3). He never wants you to remember how much the Father loves you, and the Father wants you to never forget it.

Christ’s love surpasses our ability to comprehend because it is higher, deeper, longer and wider than our ability to love. A revelation of His love for us expands our ability to love others, thus causing us to fulfill His command to love. The scripture further explains that when we know the love of Christ, we will “be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19).

All that God is; His wisdom, His goodness, etc, will fill the believer that understands how loved that they are. This is why it is so beautiful that the Apostle John repeatedly refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved in the book of John. It does not mean that Jesus loved him more than anyone else, but that John recognized how loved that he was. God loves you know more or less than He loves anyone else, but you should recognize his love for you and you will walk in His benefits.

If you ask a sinner if they know that God loves them, many of them will respond, “Oh yeah, God loves everyone”. They are right, but with that limited comprehension of God’s love, they do not see how personal that His love is. God’s love must be aimed at them, or they cannot know its full benefits. It is like pointing a magnifying glass at a blade of grass. If you hold the beam of concentrated sunlight on the blade long enough, it will catch fire. The sun’s rays were shining on it before, but it was falling equally on all blades around it. Isolate the beam, burn the blade. Isolate the love of God to one sinner instead of for the whole world; you burn away the chaff of self-righteousness and doubt.

May you be able to comprehend the amount of God’s love for you today. That is my prayer for each of you as you go into this world. Accept that love and spread it to someone else.

Sit, Walk, Stand

Ephesians 2:4-6

Many times in our Christian walk, we speak of resting in the Lord as if it is something that we should do after we are completely exhausted from the cares of this life. It is made to sound as if we finally sit down and take our ease in Christ only after we have worked sufficiently for Him in one capacity or the other. The order usually goes something like this: Stand up for the Lord in front of the world and take the blows; then walk softly before God and stay on the straight and narrow; and finally, someday, when it is all said and done, we will sit together with Him in heaven. Paul paints quite a different picture.

The order of events, according to the Apostle Paul, is designed by the Holy Spirit, for nothing happens in the Word by chance. Paul shows us what I call the “2-4-6” method of Christian experience. Watch it unfold:

Sit – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:6).

Walk – “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1).

Stand – “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11).

We actually start out defeated and beaten somewhere on the road of life, and then Jesus “raised us up together” (2:6). This is a type of our salvation experience, where the Good Samaritan cares for us along life’s highway. The first thing that He does is sit us next to Jesus. The starting point for every believer is resting next to the Master. Only when we have learned to rest with Him in His finished work are we qualified to “walk worthy” (4:1).

The “walk” is now made easier because we are accustomed to being so close to Him in proximity. You need not fear that you are going to wander off of the “straight and narrow”. Even if you do go down into a valley of the shadow of death, your Shepherd will enter it with you, and He will not abandon you in the midst.

Once we have placed our daily walk in the Lord, we are ready to stand when the enemy begins his attack. Interestingly enough, there is no mention here of the believer fighting back. Some have preached sermons on spiritual warfare, calling for militant Christians to “attack the devil”. Paul tells the believer to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (6:10), showing us that all of the battle belongs to the Lord and none of it belongs to us.

In Christ, He does the fighting and we get the victory. What a Savior! While we certainly wrestle (6:12), when it comes to the attack of the enemy, we simply stand there, while Christ takes care of us (6:13, 14). Consequently, the Holy Spirit is careful to let us know that we will stand in the “evil day”. Note that it is singular, for whatever bad comes our way, it is temporary. When God blesses the believer, it is always with “good days”, used in the plural, for they will last for all time (1 Peter 3:10).

A Guaranteed Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-14

Paul told the church at Ephesus, and thus he is telling us, that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and all of it according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7). Paul believed in making the grace of God sound rich, as opposed to ‘just enough’. While some preach a grace that is only as good as your last sin, Paul preached a radical grace that covers all of your sins and encompasses the fullness of God’s goodness.

Because of rich grace, we have further obtained an inheritance. This inheritance is a guarantee, since Paul says that we “have obtained”. That phrase is odd to us if we are convinced that we are unworthy. If we are convinced of that, then we feel that we cannot possibly receive anything from the Lord, for we have not earned it. However, Paul’s message of grace was to inform us that the sins were forgiven and we were redeemed. If we believe that, then we can believe that the inheritance is ours!

As soon as you believed on Jesus Christ, “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Just as a seal is placed on a jar to keep the goods secure inside, the Holy Spirit is sealing us to keep our righteousness safe inside of our hearts. That can is also sealed to keep the elements out of the goods, so that they retain their taste. The Holy Spirit is in us to seal us off from the tainted wickedness of this world. No matter what the believer goes through, there is nothing that can break through that seal. You can neither lose your righteousness, nor have the curse placed upon you, for the Holy Spirit is tireless in watching over you.

Paul concludes the thought with this statement, “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14). The ‘which is’ refers back to the previous verse, pointing to the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Spirit is the “earnest of our inheritance”. Unfortunately, the word ‘earnest’ doesn’t tell us much in our English translation, but in the Greek, of which the New Testament was originally written; it refers to a ‘down-payment’. Paul is telling us that the seal of the Spirit in our hearts is the down-payment on our inheritance. We may not see all of the inheritance now, but we have Holy Ghost earnest money laid down on it, so we are guaranteed that it is ours.

He says it again to the church at Corinth:

“Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us , and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22).

He also speaks of the inheritance to the church at Rome, assuring them that they will receive it, not because of their works or abilities but because they have entered into Christ, and they have the Holy Spirit in them. Look at what He does in us according to these verses, and how it assures our inheritance:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16, 17)

You have the down-payment of the Spirit in your heart, and the guarantee of a heavenly inheritance. Rejoice in your salvation, and thank God for your joint-heir!

Redeemed: How I Love To Proclaim It

Ephesians 1:7

Paul opens this wonderful letter to the church at Ephesus with a most blessed description of what Jesus means to the believer. He tells us in verse 5 that God has adopted us to himself by Jesus Christ, showing forth the mighty power of His grace, accepting us in His beloved Son (verse 6). This means that as believers, we are as accepted in the eyes of God as is Jesus, His beloved one. This is great news!

Through the shed blood of Jesus, we have redemption, meaning that we have been bought off of the slave block of sin. This doctrine of redemption is the New Testament doctrine, and literally means, “to deliver by paying a price”. Actually, there are three Greek words used in the New Testament which all mean “redemption”.

The first word is “agorazo” which means, “to purchase in the market”. This is why I stated that redemption bought us off of the slave block of sin. Christ’s blood took us off the market, as we were “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

The second word is “exagorazo”, “to buy out of the market”. This denotes that not only did Jesus buy us from the slavery of sin with His blood, but we have been removed from circulation, assuring us that we will not be slaves to sin ever again.

Finally, the word redemption is rendered “lutroo”, meaning, “to loose”, or “to set free by paying a price”. This shows us that we are purchased from sin, with no chance of being sold back and then we are set free to live our lives in total liberty. This final step is what makes the Christian walk one of absolute beauty. The Holy Spirit in our life brings liberty to live in abundance.

Redemption provides “forgiveness of sins”. All of your sins, past, present and future have been taken care of in the body of Jesus at Calvary. You are no longer viewed as guilty, and you never again can be. Only God’s rich grace can provide such a promise, for only with grace can great things be granted with no payment expected in return.

Do not feel that you owe God today, for Jesus has already paid your debt for sin and righteousness. This gift of abundant grace is yours for the taking. Allow that grace to minister to you of who Christ is and how He wants to live through you. Don’t worry about sin anymore, as the Holy Spirit in you will render sin and its dominion, obsolete.

Go in God’s rich grace today, knowing that you are free in Jesus.